Tension
by HughLoverMD
Summary: Huddy. Originally posted on the Fox House forum and is still in progress. House and Cuddy go to a fundraiser together. O/Cs will be introduced. Other characters include Wilson, the new team and the old team in their new positions. Tell me what you think!
1. Prologue

Prologue

The pavement whipped under the wheels of his motorcycle, blacker than the night sky that loomed above him. He just wanted to get out: out of the hospital, out of the clinic, out of his office. Away. Away from his team, away from his boss, away from his friends. It was torture being in that place, where people expected too much of him and people judged him before even meeting him. Well, their judgments were usually correct, but still. And the clinic patients: they were morons! Didn't anyone around here know that a headache could just be a headache! It doesn't mean you have a tumor!

Dr. House pulled his motorcycle up to the spot immediately outside the door to his apartment building. Once inside, he poured himself some scotch and settled in to watch TV. His insomnia had gotten worse lately and he knew it was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 1

Hey all! This is my first Huddy story, so comments and advice is very appreciated!! Enjoy!

Chapter 1

He walked through the large glass sliding doors and into the brightly lit hospital wearing a rumpled shirt and jeans as always. It was hours past the time that a responsible, hard working doctor would first arrive at work, but it was normal for him. To his right, the clinic was already bustling with the morons who couldn't tell post-nasal drip from strep.

He smiled inwardly and groaned outwardly as he saw Lisa Cuddy, Dean of Medicine, walking towards him, more like gliding towards him in a baby blue blouse that made her blue eyes look as blue as the Pacific ocean.

"House, you're late, as always," she said, spinning on her heel to walk with him and holding out a file, "I need you to take this case."

"And why would I do that?" He put on the persona he put on everyday around her, doing his best to muster a disgruntled look and trying to keep from succumbing to speechlessness.

"Because I sign your paycheck," she said coldly as they stepped into the elevator. He met her gaze, aware of the desperation deep in her eyes. She worked so hard, running the hospital, taking care of Rachel, dealing with him. It was last resort before she actually talked to him to get him to take a case. It was too hard to do it more often.

He exhaled and opened the file, briefly glancing over the first page. It wasn't interesting, it was actually pretty obvious, but the feelings harbored deep inside him wouldn't allow him to say no to the beautiful woman standing next to him. He caught her soft gaze once again and nodded.

"Fine. But you owe me," he muttered as the elevator doors opened before them to floor three where Cuddy was getting off.

"I don't owe you anything. It's your job to take cases, your job to do what I tell you," she said, her own self-created persona taking control over the part of her that wanted to jump him. The elevator doors closed between them, cutting through the tension that was so thick between them it was almost visible.


	3. Chapter 2

I'm just going to post the first two chapters tonight, I'll add another chapter tomorrow. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

"New case; I don't care what the hell the diagnosis is. Figure it out, call me when you're done," House announced as he entered the diagnostics lounge and tossed the file onto the glass table that Dr. Taub, Dr. Kutner and 13 sat around. "Where's Foreman?" he asked, noticing the absence of his neurologist.

"He's in the clinic, do you want me to page him?" 13 asked.

"Nah," House left his team in the lounge to ponder the incredibly obvious case he had presented to them and went to waste time in his private office.

He sat down at the computer and pulled up the Internet browser. Before he realized what he was doing, he was hacking in to Cuddy's email account. There was nothing of interest, only emails confirming board meetings and okay's to go ahead with certain procedures. Suddenly House had a different kind of epiphany, one not medical related as the ones he normally had were.

_That case was obvious…. Cushing's…and she would've known that. Why did she give me that case? Any doctor could've easily figured it out…She was testing me…to see if I'd take it…to see if I'd take an easy case, to see if I'd turn her down…she did look at me weird…_

_Does she like me?_

_No way…that was a long time ago…this is crazy._

13, who pushed open the glass door between his office and the lounge, interrupted his thoughts.

"It's Cushing's," she stated.

"Yeah, go treat it," he replied without looking up from the cane he was twirling in his hands. Kutner and Taub overheard him from where they sat and got up to go treat the patient. 13 followed.

House pushed his previous thoughts to the back of his mind where they stayed and stubbornly refused to go away. Cuddy was so on is mind that even Wilson noticed something was up with House.

A couple hours later, House and Dr. Wilson, his best and only friend, sat in the hospital cafeteria eating lunch. House was normally not a talkative person, but he tended to at least look somewhat engaged in what Wilson was saying. Today, though, he stared at his food or at the wall. Finally Wilson was fed up.

"What is up with you today?" Wilson asked between bites of his ham sandwich.

"Huh?" House snapped back to reality.

"I asked what is up with you today. You're distracted."

"Nothing. I'm not distracted. I truly care about what you're saying," he added sarcastically.

"Seriously, House, why are you so quiet?" House was about to respond with a clever answer when Cuddy strolled up to their booth.

"Did you solve that case?" she asked, practically ignoring Wilson's presence.

"The team did, yeah."

"Alright then, I'll see you in clinic duty this afternoon." It wasn't a question.

"Awwww mom!" He groaned playfully. He returned her steely blue stare.

"House, you're behind over twenty hours. Might as well get it done so I don't have Foreman take over your department and make it so all you'd be doing for a month straight is clinic duty."

"Fine," he exhaled, watching her ass as she walked away. When she was out of his line of sight, he returned to his Reuben. He became aware of a set of eyes boring into the top of his head.

"What?" He asked, mouth full of Reuben, as Wilson stared dumbfounded.

"Did you just…_cave_?" He asked, still baffled.

"What?"

"You just agreed to do clinic duty, never thought that would happen," he explained. House just shrugged and re-focused on his food. Wilson's eyebrow rose and a slight smile appeared across his face as a thought as to why his friend would be acting so odd popped into his head.


	4. Chapter 3

It's so cool to come on to all these hits after like 12 hours!! I will post Ch. 4 soon, probably even tonight since I'm ahead to chapter 5. Comments are always welcome!! Enjoy!!

Oh, almost forgot disclaimers. They apply.

Chapter 3

She sat in her office sipping her coffee and sifting through the mounds of paperwork piled high on her old med school desk. House had retrieved it for her from her mother soon after he had been a large part of her original office's death. She still wasn't sure how or why he did it; his actions were practically bipolar in that he was so incredibly sweet one minute and a pain in the ass the next.

She was running on autopilot and thinking about House and the desk when she came across a staff complaint filed by a patient. As always it was about House. As she began to read through the complaint by House's most recent patient, she found herself frowning in protest. The complaint stated, "…Dr. House is a cruel person…[who] takes pleasure in others discomfort and pain…[and] is mean at heart."

"He is not!" Cuddy muttered under her breath. "If you'd just learn to get to know someone before you judge-" she stopped herself mid sentence.

_I'm talking to myself. _And _I'm standing up for House._

_Am I out of my mind?_

She threw the complaint in House's file, which she kept on her desk 24/7 because she got tired of pulling it out so often, and tried to get her mind off her most difficult employee. But it didn't work; once she got her mind on his piercing blue eyes, his rare but charming smile, and his ruffled graying hair…

House stumbled into work the next day with a more pronounced limp than normal. He made a beeline for his office, doing everything in his power to avoid his boss and his friend. However, he knew very well that Cuddy and Wilson were determined people and would find him if they wanted to.

"House," Cuddy called as he stepped into the elevator. She quickened her step to stop the doors from closing and followed him in. "I have another case for you," she pressed the file against his chest.

"I just cured a patient yesterday," he muttered, taking the file.

"Yeah and it's not actually in your job description that you cure patients only weekly."

"Whatever," he said, avoiding eye contact.

"House, are you okay?" She asked, touching his arm. He looked down at her with a stare that was harder than normal and exited through the opening elevator doors, leaving Cuddy staring after him in thought.

"Hi, Dr. House," her soft voice floated through the phone. He was sitting on the couch in his apartment having just got home from work and had flicked open his cell without looking at the caller ID.

"What? The team is working on that case."

"Actually, I wanted to ask a massive favor."

"What," he groaned, prepared to say no.

"Would you go to the lupus awareness fundraiser dinner with me?"

"And why would I do that?"

"I'm supposed to bring an escort. It's an unwritten rule."

"Ask Wilson."

"He's escorting Stave, the department head of Pediatrics."

"Seriously? That dog…"

"Please, House?" She was on the verge of pleading. She had made it sound like he was her last resort, but truthfully she desperately wanted to go with him; to watch his jaw drop when he saw her dress, to sit next to him at dinner, to dance…but she knew even if she convinced him to go, the latter wouldn't happen.

"Fine," he said, completely out of character.

"Seriously?" She was genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, whatever."

"You have to wear a tux…" she couldn't believe he had actually said yes.

"I figured."

"Okay, so… it's this Friday at six."

"I'll pick you up, I guess."

"Okay… Thank you, House," she spoke wistfully as she was still incredibly shocked before he hung up.


	5. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter 4! It might be a couple days now before I put up chapter 5 as it's not finished yet. I post it in chunks on the Fox House forum, so if you want posts more often go there. Thank you so much for my reviews, they really mean a lot! Enjoy!**

Chapter 4

"Hey," Wilson suppressed his true emotion as he nonchalantly nodded at his friend.

"Huh?" House looked up from his computer. He had been concentrating, his brow knit and his forehead glistening with sweat on the hot summer day.

"I just said hey."

"Oh. Hey."

"What are you doing that has you so invested?"

"Porn," he replied, closing the box on his screen and pushing his chair away from the desk.

"If it was porn, you'd tell me to get out and your blinds would be shut. What were you doing?"

House shrugged and shook his head slightly as he glared up at him.

"Were you, say, looking at tuxedoes? Corsages?"

"Why would I be doing that?"

"Because you're going to the fundraiser with Cuddy!" Happiness seeped from Wilson's pores. He wanted his friend to be happy, but had come to the conclusion that he could never make it happen. Not alone, anyway. Plus, everyone at the hospital was just waiting for them to get together.

"How do you know that? You bff's with Cuddy now? Have sleepovers, paint each other's toenails?"

"Yes," he said with a complete deadpan. "That and I had breakfast with her this morning. She has monthly meetings with all her department heads except you."

"Oh, I feel loved," House replied sarcastically. "Why are you so happy about this anyway? She promised me a month off clinic duty, that's the only reason I'm going." Which, of course, she hadn't, but Wilson was never going to let him live it down if he just came out with 'I think Cuddy is hot.'

"No she didn't, House. You like her. Finally the hospital can take a deep breath. It was going to happen at some time, looks like that time is now. I'm happy for you." He started off slightly agitated but ended with a grin. He turned on his heel and walked out.

"At least I'm not a man whore who's going with someone half his age!" House called after him. When he was gone, he got up and closed the blinds and settled back in to complete the order for renting his tuxedo.

"Did you pick up your tux yet?" Wilson asked franticly.

"No."

"Then I'll pick it up for you. I'm getting mine now too, I'll be there in half an hour." House shrugged and hung up. He was sitting in his apartment, playing piano on Friday afternoon. Cuddy had let him out early along with the other staff going to the fundraiser.

Wilson showed up at 4:00 with two suit bags.

"You're drinking before the party?" He asked.

House glanced up at him and poured another bourbon. Wilson smiled as realization struck.

"You're nervous."

House downed the bourbon and reached to pour another.

"I don't think so," Wilson grabbed the bottle out of House's reach. "You can't be drunk when you get there."

"So I can just get drunk while I'm there?"

"Exactly," Wilson replied sarcastically. "Here, go get ready. Are you going to shave?" House stood and looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What the hell is _shaving?_ Never heard of that before…"

"I'll take that as a no. Cuddy is expecting you to pick her up in an hour, so go get ready." House sighed, took the bag and headed to his room.

He emerged from his room fifteen minutes later. Wilson had already gone into the bathroom and changed and was now fixing his hair.

"Wow, House, you actually look somewhat decent." He looked positively miserable in the tux, but that was the attitude he chose for himself. He would loosen up when he got there, hopefully.

Wilson adjusted House's bowtie and handed him a comb.

"This is a comb," he said, "you run it through your hair so it looks good. I know you've never seen one before, but you can't go to a thing like this with your hair like _that_." Wilson spoke as if he was talking to a kindergartener. House glared at him and took the comb.

By the time House looked decent it was already 5. He was supposed to be at Cuddy's at 5:15.

"C'mon, House, let's go," Wilson started towards the door.

"One sec, I gotta…grab something." House limped into the kitchen and opened the fridge. From it, he pulled a corsage. It was a beautiful sky blue rose.

Wilson had followed him in and was watching him gaze at the flower.

"You got that for Cuddy," he stated. House just glanced at him and started for the door. "You really like her, don't you?"

House looked back at him and found himself unable to say no. He said nothing and left with Wilson grinning in his wake.


	6. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much for my reviews!!! In light of THE FINALE tonight (!!!), here's the longest chapter yet (by far!)(and the huddiest!) Enjoy!**

Chapter 5

The boys had gotten into their respective cars and headed for their dates' houses. House limped up the walk to Cuddy's house and rang the doorbell with his cane.

Lisa rushed down the stairs, pulling on shoes as she went. At the foot of the stairs she checked her hair in the mirror on the wall and headed into the foyer to greet House.

When she pulled open the heavy oak door, they gasped simultaneously. House looked downright handsome in a tux with his hair pressed. His eyes traced her curves through the tight deep blue dress. Finally their eyes met and Cuddy smiled.

"Thanks for doing this, House," she said, grabbing her purse from the table just inside the door. He nodded, still a little speechless.

They walked down the walk together. When House opened her door for her, she laughed slightly and nodded her appreciation.

It was awkward in the car, as expected. The first couple minutes especially. Finally Cuddy broke the silence.

"You look good," she said, glancing at him. "I'm guessing Wilson helped you get ready?" she added jokingly.

"Hey, are you saying I am unable to dress up on my own?"

"I am saying you are unable to dress up appropriately on your own."

"Really? 'Cause Wilson didn't help me do this," he pulled the corsage in it's container from the pocket in the door next to him and held it out for her. He smiled inwardly when he heard her gasp.

"Oh, my, House," she said, taking the box, "it's beautiful. Thank you." He pulled the car into a handicapped parking space near the front. He took the corsage out of the box and put it on her wrist.

"It matches good," he said awkwardly.

"It's perfect." She gazed at the rose and turned to gaze at him. "You know, I refuse to believe that I actually convinced you to come here with me."

"Really? Then why do you think I am here?"

"Because there is some way you will get something out of it. You'll embarrass me, or grab my ass, or I don't know…_something._ I don't believe you're doing this for me."

House looked back at her for a moment, unable to think of words to describe exactly why he was there. "Maybe," he said, before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. She was taken aback. He had always acted so abrasive to her, and at first she had thought that he maybe liked her, but lately he didn't seem to make comments about the way she looked as much. His lips against hers set sparks down her spine. She was shifting in her seat to get closer when he pulled away.

"We should go in," he said, avoiding eye contact as he grabbed his cane from the back seat and got out of the car.

They walked in to the party. Lupus Awareness logos and banners were everywhere. An autographed picture of Seal was up for auction, along with other items displayed a few feet in to the lobby. Cuddy had rigged it so they were at a table with Wilson and Stave, the unbearable head of Pediatrics, along with Cameron and Chase and 13 and Foreman.

"What," House said, as they walked towards the table, "Kutner and Taub couldn't get dates?"

"They weren't invited," she replied in a hushed tone, "not even Dr. Hadley was, but she's Foreman's date. Hey, everybody," she added the last part in her normal speaking voice as they came upon the table. A chorus of hello's greeted her.

They drank and made small talk until food came. Cameron gazed at House all night, which really got on his nerves. He gave a hard glare back and leaned a little towards Cuddy. When their plates were placed in front of them, Wilson decided it was the right time to embarrass House.

"Lisa," he said, "that's a beautiful corsage. Did House get it for you?"

"Thank you, James. And yes, he did." She admired the rose for a moment and took a sip of her vodka and tonic. House groaned and plopped against the back of his chair, fearing he now looked soft and romantic and like he actually liked Cuddy (which, in fact, he did.)

After Wilson's comment, Cuddy shifted her hand and accidentally bumped House's left thigh. Her touch sent sparks up his spine and caused him to surprise himself by leaning his leg against hers. To his even greater surprise, she didn't pull away.

The food was terrible. It was supposedly a choice of pork chops or sea bass, but both were awful. When their slightly picked-at plates were ushered into the hands of a server half an hour later, Cuddy reached up to whisper in House's ear.

"Remind me to kill the caterers."

"I'd like to help with that," he replied to her soft breath on his ear.

Conversation continued, House and Cuddy rolling their eyes and groaning to each other when Stave leapt into a long, confusing story about a patient she had. Her voice was enough to give them both a headache.

A large man in a tuxedo stepped up to the mic and gave a droning speech about Lupus. House zoned out within the first fifteen seconds. Throughout the speech, Cuddy continued to look engaged like a good hospital administrator but somewhere in the middle, she gave House a look that showed otherwise.

After the speech, they continued as they had been. Couples started dancing, and Stave dragged Wilson off to the dance floor. Foreteen and Chameron both got up and followed, leaving Cuddy and House alone at the table.

"That food was terrible," Cuddy said, trying to start a conversation. She had decided it was ridiculous to hope he would ask her to dance.

"Even Wilson didn't like it. He eats everything," he chuckled softly. They watched as a new song started, a slow song.

"Do, uh…do you want to dance?" He finished by turning to look her in the eye.

She was clearly taken aback. Speechless, she only nodded. He took her hand and led her there, leaving his cane at the table.

House was unable to truly dance and Cuddy knew that. He took her left hand in his right and set his left hand on her waist. House found himself much more courageous then he ever thought he would be.

"Thank you again for doing this, House. I know it's not really your thing-"

"It's no problem," he interrupted her with his oh-so-sexy half smile that made her weak in the knees. They swayed in silence for a few moments when a rumble erupted from House's stomach. They laughed together. "Damnit, Cuddy, you couldn't hire a good caterer?!" he cried jokingly, patting his stomach.

"Hey, I didn't plan the party!" She replied, still laughing. House looked at his watch. It was only eight, but they wouldn't miss anything if they left.

"You wanna, I don't know, get out of here? Get some food? Some _edible_ food?" House asked.

Lisa glanced around to find even one reason that she wanted to stay at the function, but found none. She realized that as long as she was with him, it didn't really matter.

"Yeah, okay," she replied. He led her off the dance floor and back to the table. The other couples were still out dancing, so they didn't have to make any explanations. She grabbed her purse, he grabbed his cane and they headed to his car.


	7. Chapter 6

**Thank you so much for my reviews!!! The finale...wow. I don't think I'll survive the next four months! Here's chapter 6, enjoy!  
**

Chapter 6

"Where do you want to go?" House asked, shedding his tux jacket and bow tie and throwing them into the back seat.

"It's up to you," she replied wistfully, watching him unbutton the top button on his shirt to release himself from the tie, working hard to rip her mind away from the thought of his chest.

"So…McDonalds?" He replied jokingly and she laughed. After thinking for a second he said softly, "I know a place," and started up the car.

*****

They arrived at a little diner after driving fifteen minutes on the back roads.

"I think you'll like this place," he said, limping beside her into Ellen's Diner.

"Why, hello there, Greg!" Said a woman, presumably Ellen, when they walked through the door. She was probably about 60 in a dirty apron and had a thick southern accent. "Ya'll are awfully dressed up to be comin' to a place like this!"

"Hi, Ellen. This is Lisa Cuddy. We were at a function at the hospital, but they had awful food," he said, like any normal person greeting an old friend.

"Well, we don't have awful food here, I'm hopin'. Come on in, seat yerselves!" She walked the plates she had been carrying off to a corner of the diner.

"You didn't tell me you had friends other than Wilson!" Lisa whispered to them as the headed to a booth.

"Ellen was my babysitter when I was a kid and we were around here. It was mostly when I was four and five and dad was out at the army base in Italy without us."

"Oh, it's nice you keep in touch with her."

"I have to," he sat down across from her and leaned his cane against the table, "otherwise I'd starve."

Cuddy ordered a chicken salad and House ordered a burger. They made awkward small talk while they waited for their food. Marvin, Ellen's husband, brought it out and greeted Greg. They dug in.

"Oh…mi…god…" Cuddy said through bites of salad, "this is really good."

"I have a feeling anything would be really good after that terrible pork, but I know what you mean," he said with a smile. Her knee pressed against his under the table.

"It's a shame they don't sell alcohol here," House said, pushing his plate away.

"You've had enough alcohol tonight to fill a pool. And surprisingly you're not drunk."

"Very funny," he said with a smirk. Cuddy finished her meal and pushed the dish away as well.

"Ya want me to just put it on yer tab, dear?" Ellen called from behind the counter.

"Sounds good, Ellen, thanks."

"You have a tab? How often do you come here?"

"A couple times a week," he replied standing up and picking up his cane.

"That's nice, House," she said, smiling with her new information showing that House might actually be a good person inside. Who would've thought he visits old friends? Of course, he might just be too lazy to cook for himself, but Ellen and Marvin probably see it another way.

They walked out to the car together after saying goodbye to the proprietors. House put the key in the ignition and started the car.

They drove to Lisa's house in comfortable silence. House limped her to her door.

"Thank you for doing this House," she said, facing him after pushing open the door.

"You've already said that," he said, glancing up at the clear night sky.

"I never thought you'd go with me," she said, catching his eye again. His eyes were brighter than the stars shining above them.

"I should go," he said, turning and starting down the steps.

"House," she called. He turned. "I didn't ask Wilson first. You weren't my last resort."

"What?"

"I wanted to ask you because…because…" she hesitated, looking for the words. Giving up she dropped her purse to the foyer floor and walked towards him. When he was on the step down, he was about the same height as her. She took his scruffy face in her hands and pressed her lips to his once again.

House was stunned. He couldn't move, not that he wanted to. In shock, he raised his hands and grasped her hips. He pushed his numb tongue into her mouth. A moment later, they broke apart.

"Are you serious?" He asked, his hands still resting on her lower back. Her warm hands still wrapped around the sides of his face, her fingers stroked her neck.

She replied by kissing him again. This one lasted. With a newfound strength, he left his dropped cane and pushed her towards the open doorway. She pushed the door closed behind his back.


	8. Chapter 7

**Your reviews really make my day, thank you so much!! Actually watching the end of Here Kitty right now...most hilarious thing ever. "Yeah, a cat." I think this is my favorite episode ever. Anyway, here's chapter 7, enjoy! Huddiest chapter yet! No school tomorrow, so I'll try to get maybe another chapter up by the end of this weekend (no promises!!) Thanks for reading!**

Chapter 7

He looked around the unfamiliar room for a minute before he remembered what had happened the night before. Smiling, he looked to his right and his smile disappeared. There was no one there.

"Shit," he muttered. She must've left earlier. But why would she leave him in her house? The clock next to him blinked eleven; they hadn't gotten to sleep until almost one.

"Hey, you," Cuddy walked barefoot into the room. She held two cups of coffee in her hands and a cane was tucked under her arm, "look what I found outside."

A feeling of relief flooded through him. He smiled at her. "You went outside like that?" She was wearing a low-cut tank top and short shorts.

"I go jogging like this," she said, climbing into the bed next to him and handing him coffee. They sat up against the headboard.

"I might have to move into the neighborhood, then," he said, "no wonder the prices on housing in this area are going up. Everyone wants to see Lisa Cuddy's boobs while she runs."

"Oh, shut up," she said, laughing slightly. Just then a vibration erupted from House's phone and Dancing Queen started playing. He set his coffee on the bedside table and limped the few feet to his phone, which lay in the middle of the floor.

"What?" he said, knowing it was Wilson. A breeze flowed through the open window and he slid back under the covers. He was wearing only boxers and was not used to the cold air on his body.

"Hey, where are you?" Wilson asked.

"At my apartment," House said without missing a beat. He was used to lying. Cuddy's warm body pushed up against his and she lay her head on his chest.

"No, you're not. Which means you are either at Cuddy's house or at a strip club. And judging by the fact that you two left wicked early last night, I'd bet you're at Cuddy's house." His voice sounded oddly cheery.

"What, are you in my apartment right now? Give me back my key."

"Yes, I'm in your apartment. You didn't answer the door. You didn't answer the door because you aren't here. You didn't answer the door because you're with CUDDY!" He was overjoyed. It was about time House and Cuddy got together.

House hung up the phone and tossed it to the floor. He wasn't sure how he felt about Wilson knowing about him and Cuddy.

******

House was a different person around Cuddy. She noticed that now, as they sat on the couch in her house, leaning against the armrests and their feet intertwined on the center cushion. House had changed into jeans and a T-shirt that he had in his car.

"So are we a…thing now?" House asked. They had been having a witty conversation, but the question was eating him alive. Cuddy looked up from her coffee and her blue eyes met his.

"Do you want to _be _a thing?" she asked, after a moment of thought.

"I think that…I would…be…okay with that," he said, staring down into his coffee. They both knew it was hard for him to say what he felt.

Cuddy set her coffee on the table and pushed up into a kneeling position on the couch. She reached over his knee and tilted his head up with her hand to force him to look her in the eye. He looked almost ashamed of himself, or worried that she wouldn't want to be in a relationship with him.

She stretched to push her lips against his, leaning against his knees. Their lips didn't come apart as she climbed on top of him and he straightened out his legs. Her weight on his body felt like almost nothing and for some reason he felt absolutely no pain whatsoever. Her hands latched on to the back of his neck and head; his hands roamed all over. After what seemed like a lifetime, Cuddy pulled her face from his but they remained in the same position.

"So…what do we tell people?"

"I…I don't know." Despite protests from his brain, he stroked her cheek. He was sure that he was going to wake up from this dream soon.

"Do you want to keep it quiet, for now anyway?" she asked, leaning into his touch.

He nodded. He couldn't speak. He wanted so badly for the beautiful woman straddling his waste to be real. But he was certain it was a dream, a hallucination… something.

******

"So we're …in a relationship now," Cuddy said, getting dressed for the second time that day. House pushed himself on to his feet from the edge of the bed and came up behind her.

"I should tell Wilson," he said, placing his hands on her waist and pushing his face into the crook of her neck. She smelled indescribably good, something tropical.

"He figured it out before we did," she replied, reaching back to touch his stubble.

"I'm starving."

"Me too."

They walked down to the kitchen hand in hand, something that was awkward and new for House but it seemed to make Cuddy happy so he let it slide. It was a beautiful spring day, almost summer and the windows were open wide. Lisa made ham sandwiches while House sat on the counter and watched. They took them out to the swing on the patio.

"I'm not good at the whole relationship thing, you should know," he muttered before taking a bite of the sandwich.

"All I want you to be is yourself, don't you dare go and try to be a model boyfriend," she said. House smiled; he didn't mind being called her 'boyfriend'.

"Noted," he replied through a mouthful of chips. They finished their food in silence, scarfing it down as it was already one and they hadn't eaten yet that day. When they were done, they continued to swing and look out at the view from Lisa's backyard. Her neighborhood was atop a slight hill that was enough to create a beautiful view.

Cuddy laughed suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What?" House chuckled. Her giggle gave him goose bumps.

"I wasn't in your endocrinology class," she said, looking at him, "I audited it."

When House raised an eyebrow, she continued. "I thought you were an interesting lunatic. I've liked you ever since that course," she said. House replied with that rare smile that he had displayed so often that day. He kissed her quickly to tell her that he had liked her too.


	9. Chapter 8

**Here's chapter 8! Summer is approaching and slowly I will be able to post more often (: So, tell me what you think! And thank you so much for my previous reviews, they mean the world to me!**

Chapter 8

When they came back inside, House's phone displayed 48 new messages. Twelve of them were voicemails from Wilson, which he immediately deleted without reading. The others were texts. He flipped through the first few. "How's it going?" "What are you doing?" "Text me back, goddammit!" "Are you and Cuddy a thing now?" "Are you still with her?" "Answer your phone!"

House showed them to Cuddy.

"Well, Wilson's awfully excited, isn't he?" She chuckled.

"He's like a little boy on Christmas. Why is he so thrilled about this?"

"He wants you to be happy," she replied.

"I…I think I will be…with-with you," he said softly. He wasn't used to stating his feelings. They had come close together and he pushed a stray hair out of her eyes. His touch felt electric on her forehead. Their lips crashed together and their tongues did the tango until they ripped apart at the sound of the doorbell.

****

"Oh who the hell is that," Lisa mumbled, looking in the direction of the door as if she could see through it and carelessly stroking House's cheek with her thumb. He shrugged and tried to take her lips in his again, but she shrugged away. "I have to see who it is," she replied when his eyes displayed his disappointment, "go wait in the living room."

She walked to the foyer and pulled open the heavy oak door. She hid her gasp well when she saw Chase standing on the doorstep and Cameron behind him. They were both in scrubs, Chase's green and Cameron's pink.

"Hi, Dr. Cuddy," Chase said, "you didn't answer your phone, so we-"

"Hi, Chase and Cameron," she said, cutting him off, "Nah, it's fine. Is there a problem at the hospital? My phone is broken, I need to get a new one."

"I found House's team a rather confusing case. They were having trouble so we joined them and grabbed Wilson too. None of us can figure it out. All the while we've been calling House, but he's not answering," Cameron explained.

"Okay," Cuddy nodded, trying not to show her extreme disappointment. "I can go over and send his hookers home. Why don't you guys go back to the hospital and try to figure it out? I assume Foreman took charge."

"Yeah, okay," Chase nodded and started away.

"I'll call you when I get a hold of House. And I'll be in shortly."

She shut the door and padded back into the living room. House was obviously disgruntled with his phone plastered to his ear.

"I have a damn case," he said, showing that he had heard the conversation. He pulled the cell away from his ear and started deleting all the texts. The ones that he had read were from Wilson, but half of the others were from the team.

"We're lucky Chase and Cameron didn't recognize your car," she said, snaking her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his chest, looking up at him.

"Do I really have to go in?" he asked, the disgruntled feeling dissipating as he looked into her eyes.

She brushed her lips against his. "Yes," she said, "and so do I. Go solve this case, and there may just be a reward," she said sultrily.

"A reward?" he replied, raising his eyebrow, "you don't mean…"

"I do mean that," she smiled and pushed up onto her toes to kiss him again. "Go. I'll see you when you get there." He looked longingly into her eyes and kissed her again, pressing his tongue against hers. He pulled away, grabbed his cane and walked out without looking back.

****

Chase and Cameron had walked down the brick walk and got into Chase's silver Prius.

"Hey," Cameron said, "isn't that…House's car?" she motioned towards the blue junker across the street from Cuddy's driveway.

"Hm," Chase replied, sticking the key into the ignition, "it looks familiar. They _did_ go to the dinner together last night…"

Cameron grabbed a pen and paper out of the glove compartment and jotted down House's license plate: GH 409. "I guess we'll see." Chase didn't look over, but if he had he would've seen her eyeing Cuddy's house with her lips in a tight line and a knot in her eyebrows.


	10. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the false update, guys...this is not in fact a post...although there will be one, tonight or tomorrow i'm hoping. **

**If you noticed my reviews you'll see that there was a negative post quite recently...this really, really pissed me off...**

**I just wanted to apologize for being busy in my life...i'm not a full time writer...in fact, I'm a teenager...I haven't posted in a month because I update this on another site as well, more frequently...that and I just endured weeks of hell a.k.a. finals in 4 AP classes and 4 High Honors classes...but it's summer now. I just got back from a week at camp. in five days I'm going to california. so, so, sorry if I can't update this every freaking day.**

**Had to get that off my back...that really pissed me off...**

**Sorry for this, I'm sure it won't happen again! See you next post! [again, hopefully soon!!!]**

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**Okay guys, chill pills all around...here's chapter nine...**

Chapter 9

House parted ways with Cuddy and headed home to shower. Cuddy watched his tall frame duck into his car and drive off a good ten miles over the speed limit before heading upstairs to do the same. Cuddy was ready before House was, as he stood in the burning shower water as long as possible, and left a message on his voicemail telling him to wait at least ten minutes to come in so as not to look suspicious. House couldn't help but allow a grin to form on his face when listening to her voice echoing through his apartment. After listening to the message twice more, he threw on a Rolling Stones tee, a sports coat and jeans. He grabbed his Vicodin, cane, listened to the recording once more and sped off on his motorcycle.

*********

"Well, hello, Dr. Cuddy!" House limped through the front doors into the air-conditioned lobby. She stood at the front desk flipping through paperwork and scowled when he called out so loudly. She knew it wasn't too suspicious, as he often tried to make a fool out of her, but still. She wanted to be cautious.

"Hello, Dr. House," she said, "I need to talk to you in my office."

"Oh, really, Dr. Cuddy? What about?" He used his good leg to hop up onto the counter, where he had a perfect shot down her low cut shirt. She noticed that he was looking and denied the urge to pull it up. Or pull it off completely.

"Er…you weren't answering the phone last night or all day today. And there is some stuff I need you to sign before you go work on your patient. C'mon," she said, leading the way to her office. House admired her ass, jumped down and happily followed.

The moment they were in the office and the door was shut (the blinds were already closed), House's hands were around her waist and hers were around his neck.

"Hey," she said softly.

"We've been apart for an hour and we already need our hands on each other," he stated bluntly. "That and we've been _together_ together for a few hours, at the most." He would've continued but his own urge took over and he pressed his lips to hers. Her tongue found it's way into his mouth and his hands found a way down to her ass. A knock on the door came and they flung themselves away from each other with such force that he knocked into the wall and she collided with the desk.

Pushing her bangs behind her ear, Cuddy glanced at House as he gathered himself and called "Come in." Dr. Stave, the department head of pediatrics, entered and, ignoring House's presence completely (he'd berated her many a time), she addressed Cuddy.

"Hi, Dr. Cuddy, I just need your OK on this kidney biopsy," she said, handing over the file. After a quick glance, she signed off and handed the file back. "Thank you," Stave said, glancing at House in the corner and back to Cuddy. Shaking her head as she realized what was going on, she turned on her heel and strutted out to perform her biopsy. Cuddy shut the door behind her.

"Well _that_ was awkward!" House said, laughing. The happiness in his face caused Cuddy to smile as well.

"You need to get to work," she said, stepping into his arms. They stayed like that for a moment before House's pager went off. He groaned and started away. "G-Greg," she hesitated.

"Yeah?" She walked forward, grabbed his scruffy face and pressed her lips to his. "I'll see you later," he said, opened the door and reluctantly limped off to save a life.

**************

He limped into his office and received relieved sighs from each of the fellows he had had in the past five years. Wilson couldn't stop grinning once House arrived and quickly left to go giggle in his office. On his way out, he patted House on the shoulder and muttered "you go girl" under his breath.

"Where have you been?" Foreman asked.

"Three hookers, twelve crates of jello, and eight cans of whipped cream. And then Cuddy showed up," he said in his hilariously sarcastic way. Foreman, Chase and 13 chuckled, Cameron looked disgusted and Taub was oblivious.

There was already a list of symptoms on the board in Wilson's girly handwriting. In the corner was a list of possible diagnosis' in Foreman's scrawling handwriting but House ignored it and refrained from making a snide remark as Cameron, in her E.R. scrubs, filled him in on the case. After the quick briefing, he sent his current team off to do tests and his old team off to where they belonged and settled in for a long night of boredom.


	11. Chapter 10

**Thanks: you know who you are.**

**Anyway here is 10...it is a little short...I'm going to try to get another chapter up by Friday, when I'm going to California. So, enjoy!! Reviews are always welcome. Thanks a lot for previous reviews, guys!!! **

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Chapter 10

"What the _hell_!?" House gasped as he rubbed his eyes. The digital clock in the corner of his computer screen displayed 3:47 and the florescent lights seemed obnoxiously brighter than normal. Taub's short figure and Cameron's tall one stood in front of him.

"Test came back positive, he has a tapeworm in his intestine," Taub said.

"Call Chase, get it out," House grumbled as he gathered his things. "And call me if anything goes wrong. Better yet, don't." He muttered as he limped from the office.

*****************************************

Cuddy had already gone home for the night around midnight. She planned to only stop in for a couple hours but once she was there she couldn't stop herself from working. Curled up in her bed at 4 a.m., she wondered and wished House would stop by after he solved the case. As she began to drift to sleep, she thought she heard someone come into the room but blamed it on her dreams. Suddenly she jolted to full awareness when a gruff hand stroked her cheek.

"Hey," House whispered, "I solved the case."

"How the hell did you get in here?" She tried to be mad at him as she sat up and watched him strip to his boxers but realized she couldn't. Suddenly she realized they had been together for a little over 24 hours and already House couldn't sleep in his own bed for a night. After all he had moved in with Stacy after only a week.

"You have a key under three of the four flower pots on your front step," he said, setting his cane against the bedside table and pulling her into his arms. "I hope it's okay that I'm here."

"I was just hoping you'd stop by," she whispered, straddling his waist and kissing his neck. She smiled at the noticeably growing effect she had on him as he ran his hands up her back.

"Really, now," he said with a chuckle, catching her lips in his and running his hands under her shirt, sending chills up her spine. It wasn't long before they rolled over so he was on top.

********************************

"Shit, Cuddy, wake up, you're late for work," House muttered after checking his watch. It was 8:30, early for him to go in but late for her.

"It's Sunday you idiot," she muttered, burying her face in his neck. She was sprawled across his chest and his smell was remarkably good.

"Oh," he said, realizing his stupidity and laughing to himself silently. Cuddy smiled as his chest vibrated.

They lay silent for a while, enjoying the warm feeling of being pressed together.

"I think we should tell people," House stated. Lisa picked her head up to look in him in the eyes.

"Really?"

"Well, everyone knew it was going to happen at some point. I think Chase even had a pool going. And I'd like to see Cameron cry…again."

"House if you want to tell people, if you want to be in this relationship, it can't be about revenge or money. It has to be because you like me as much as I like you. It has to be because you think this might go somewhere." She rolled off him and sat cross-legged facing him.

"Lisa, I was kidding. Of course I like you. I've liked you since that endocrinology class in med school," he said sincerely, sitting up and taking her face delicately in his hands. Relieved, she smiled and kissed him.

"You really want to tell people," she asked, crawling onto his lap and sitting on his good leg.

"Well, let's let the team figure it out for themselves. I can't wait to see the look on Foreman's face, maybe he'll finally show an emotion," House said, smiling, a rare delicacy that Cuddy had gotten a lot of recently.

They kissed gently for a moment. Pulling apart, Cuddy stroked his face and whispered, "I'm glad. I'm glad this finally happened."

"It's about time," he whispered back before they pressed together again.


	12. Chapter 11

**Alrighty, so...first, thank you SO MUCH for my reviews, they mean so much!!! Second, little author's note, my timeline is different than that of the show. Cuddy's Serenade is introduced in this chapter but Cuddy does not have rachel in this chapter and never did. Also, Chase and Cameron are simply together, no marriage (yet). Forgive me if this is confusing :)**

**So here is ch. 11! i may not be able to post for a week because I'm going to california. reviews are lovely :)**

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Chapter 11

They rolled out of bed around eleven and staggered into the kitchen for food. Too lazy to actually cook anything, they ate cereal at the counter and talked about how they would let it be known to the world that they were finally together. Cuddy noticed House hadn't taken Vicodin since probably before he came to her house so early that morning but didn't say anything.

"We should just walk in tomorrow, together," Lisa said, "let them get their own ideas."

"Is this your way of inviting me to stay the night tonight?" House said, raising an eyebrow playfully.

"You might want to bring some of your clothes over here," she said, leaning closer to him, "I have a feeling you're going to be around here a lot."

With Lisa's face so close, the only action that would come to his mind was to kiss her and so he did.

***************************************

After lounging around for a while longer, they both got in the car and drove over to House's apartment. Lisa looked at his guitars while he threw some clothes into his blue backpack.

She was admiring the piano when House emerged from his bedroom. "Come here," he said, quickly limping past her and plopping down on the bench. He patted the bench next to him and lifted the cover off the keys. She grinned and sat down, pushing up against him because the bench was only so long. He dove into a beautiful, upbeat piece and Lisa rested her cheek on his shoulder.

"That was beautiful," she said when he finished.

"Thank you," he replied. After a second of silence, he lurched into another piece. This one started off with a Jewish tone and glided into the Rolling Stones' 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'. This time it was Lisa's turn to raise an eyebrow as she tried to figure out what the piece was. It was possibly the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard, but it wasn't every day you find a song that is Jewish and includes the Rolling Stones.

House finished the piece and stared at the keys for a moment.

"What was that? It was so beautiful, I-I," she stuttered slightly, trying to portray how much it moved her. House turned to her with a serious look and rested his hand on her thigh.

"I, uh, wrote that for you a couple months ago," he said, "I don't really know what came over me, I just, wrote it, and named it 'Cuddy's Serenade'." He seemed really shy about it.

Tears welled in Lisa's eyes as she tried to make words come out of her mouth, but she couldn't. It was, by far, the nicest and sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her and for a moment she forgot that this was the same person who once caused her office to be destroyed. Then again, after that, he had gotten her old med school desk…he wasn't such a jerk after all.

She flung her arms around his neck, grinning. "Thank you, Hou-err-Greg," she said into his ear, "that…is…the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." She pressed her lips against his and ran her fingers through his hair, unable to get enough of him. "Thank you," she whispered again.

House, shy and quiet about his random display of affection, stood, grabbed his bag, and together they walked back out to Lisa's car.


	13. Chapter 12

**I'm baaack! This chapter is pretty short because 1) I wanted to get a post up here and 2) I wanted to keep the reactions to their own chapter. Which will definately be the next chapter. So, enjoy! Reviews are lovely :)**

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Chapter 12

They rode back to Lisa's house in silence, her still blushing from the completely out-of-character move on House's part. But maybe it wasn't out-of-character for a House she didn't know, at least, not yet.

Lisa backed in to her driveway and they both got out. They barely got in the door before House's bag hit the floor and they staggered up the stairs, joined at the lips and the hips, and, well, the rest of their bodies for that matter. House had a little trouble up the stairs, but still seemed to be having less trouble than normal.

**********

After doing very little of meaning the rest of the day, they went to bed excited to see reactions on certain people's faces. Wilson had tried to get House on the phone a couple of times during the day and probably had shown up to House's apartment only to find him MIA. He already knew something was going on with them, but he expected them to keep it quiet, especially at first. Knowing Wilson already knew, House was most excited for Cameron's reaction.

"Hey, don't rub it in too much in front of Cameron tomorrow, okay?" Lisa said softly. They were laying in bed, House on his back and Lisa half on House's chest.

"Awww mom! Why?" House replied not-so-softly.

"Because. She has a high school crush on you. Yeah, we all know she's with Chase now but she still has a crush on you. She'll try to hide it, but she'll be devastated."

"All the more reason to rub it in," House said. Lisa pulled herself up so she was straddling his waist.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk?" Cuddy said, her face inches from his.

"I'm being the jerk? I think you're being the jerk at the moment. We can't have sex now, because it's midnight and we both have to go to bed and get up pretty early tomorrow. And yet here you are, straddling me, teasing me." He moved his face closer to hers with each of his last words.

"Hmph. You're calling me a jerk. I'm going to go sleep on the couch. Goodnight!" she said, jokingly upset. She pouted a little to tease him even more, then moved as if she was actually getting up to leave the room.

"Yeah, not so fast," House said, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her back on top of him, causing her to erupt in laughter. He pinned her down by laying lightly on top of her with his arms around her.

"Goodnight, Lisa," he said quietly, kissed her, then buried his face in her neck.

"Goodnight, Greg."


	14. Chapter 13

**I'm finally back, and for good this time! Phew, busy summer, but now I'll finally get some writing done! This chapter is loooong...enjoy! I know, I said reactions will definately be this chapter, but this one just got too long...so now i can say that there is no doubt that the clinic ordeal will be in teh next chapter. how can i say for sure? well, i've already written it! It'll be up soonish. Anyways, enjoy! reviews are amazing :]**

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Chapter 13

Lisa was up, showered, dressed and sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee when House staggered downstairs in his boxers.

"You're up early," he mumbled groggily.

"No, you're up late. Go get dressed, and shower if you want to get lucky tonight," Lisa replied coolly.

***

Twenty minutes later, House came downstairs again in jeans and a Rolling Stones tee. He pulled a dining room chair closer to where Cuddy was sitting and plopped down.

"Nice choice on the shirt," he said, taking a sip of her coffee, "it is most definitely something I would make you wear." He motioned towards the deep blue blouse with the top three buttons undone. He reached over and unhooked the fourth button.

Lisa smiled and buttoned her top.

"We need to go soon," she said, waving for him to finish off her coffee. He drained the cup and stood.

"Let's go," he said excitedly.

**********

Lisa drove them both to work. They decided to just act on impulse, well, just act on Lisa's impulse. They both knew House's impulse was to have sex on the front desk and in the clinic and in the janitor's closet and in the cafeteria and in the doctor's lounge and in the lecture hall and in Cuddy's office and in House's office and in Wilson's office and…well, you get the point.

Lisa pulled into her parking spot. They both got out and walked in, Cuddy slowing from her usual stride to match House's slower thud-step. Once they reached the front desk, House turned and started flirting with her.

"Have I mentioned yet today that I like your top?" He was a little worried that she had seemed rather quiet in the car, maybe from excitement but also maybe from second thoughts.

"Well, yes, if you mean my shirt. No if you just mean the top half of my body," she said with a smile. She grabbed a stack of paperwork and walked to her office, House not far behind.

"I like them both!" he said, louder so the people around them could hear. He followed her into her office and waited until the door shut behind him. "See you in the clinic later," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

"I can't wait," she said seductively. They kissed lightly, then House flashed her a stunning smile that not many people got to witness before making a beeline to Wilson's office.

Cuddy sat down at her desk and started sifting through the pile of paperwork on her desk. A file in the middle was an unsolved medical dilemma that would be perfect for House. Her first thought was to make him take it, but she realized that would mean seeing less of him. Pushing aside her personal complaints, she decided to force the case on House anyway.

"Hello Wisconsin!" House said, mocking the end of the theme song for That 70s Show. "Warning: I'm in a good mood today! Anyone want to ask me why?"

"Why," Kutner asked. Taub sighed, frustrated that Kutner was enabling him.

"Because…due to our lack of a case, I'm forcing you all to sit here for the next two hours and sort all," he jabbed his cane to the corner of the office, "of those files. Yes, those are the files from each of the patients I've cured since Cameron left. And the stack on the right is Wilson's, deadline Friday. Bet my files in a poker game; first time I've lost in ten years. So do those first. Forge my signature, I don't care. At one you all will go down to the clinic and do your clinic duty. If you're not done with the files, finish them tomorrow. Understood? Good! And goodbye." He turned on his heel, his good heel, and limped into his office. He groaned when he realized he left his Vicodin on Cuddy's bedside table and quickly cracked open his Lupus textbook. He popped two and put the bottle back in the textbook.

With the ducklings hard at work and no case, House plopped down in his chair and flicked his computer on.

_Meet me in the cafeteria for lunch at noon_ House typed in a blank email and filled the address line with "Partypants". As if she was sitting, waiting for an email, a new email popped up in House's inbox thirty seconds later.

__Okay…clinic at one, right?__

_yup._

With a little over a half an hour to kill, House headed over to Wilson's office.

*************

"You're smiling," Wilson said, looking up from his paperwork as House stepped in to his office.

"I have a date for lunch," he replied, "sorry to blow you off."

"Dare I say with...Lisa Cuddy, hospital administrator, dean of medicine and the woman whose house you've been at for the past three days?"

"That's the one," House said. Giving up on trying to maintain his usual stern face, he grinned at his best friend.

"I can't believe it," Wilson said, dropping his pen and standing up to sit in the chair across from where House had perched on the couch.

"Really? You're the one who's been pushing us to be together for like five years."

"Yeah, I just never expected it to actually happen. This is good…this-this is great," Wilson said, grinning, "I'm happy for you!"

"Yeah well thanks. In celebration, how 'bout you give me twenty bucks?"

"House, be a gentleman and pay for your girlfriend's lunch. Without my help."

House stood up, limped over to the desk and pulled open the middle drawer. He pulled out Wilson's wallet, grabbed a twenty and dropped the wallet back on the desk, not bothering to put it back the way he found it.

"See, if you didn't intend to give me the money anyway, even after your mini-speech, you would've stopped me from doing that. Thanks buuuuddy!" House added the last part as he headed for the door. Wilson sighed. Maybe Cuddy would change him, make him a little more gratuitous. It was as unlikely as it sounded.

******

House pushed open the door of the cafeteria in time to see Cuddy about to buy her own lunch. He quickly grabbed a reuben and a Coke from the counter and just as Cuddy was about to hand the money to the cashier, he reached over her shoulder and handed her the twenty.

"You're paying for her lunch, Dr. House?"

"Indeed I am."

"And I take it you're paying for your own too?"

"For once in my life." The woman raised an eyebrow at the two of them and handed House his change. He was still standing behind Cuddy, and although the cashier didn't notice, he was pressing his pelvis into her ass.

"That was nice of you," Lisa said as they sat down in a booth in a quiet corner of the cafeteria.

"I invited you to lunch, you didn't think I'd pay for the food too?"

"Well, you _are_ Gregory House, so…no."

"Alright I confess, I took the money from Wilson. It's the thought that counts," he added with a pleading smile. She smiled back, wrapped her leg around his and started in on her salad.


	15. Chapter 14

**The long-awaited clinic ordeal and reactions from a good chunk of the PPTH family is in this chapter! **

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Chapter 14

"Did you hear? House and Cuddy had lunch together today," Chase said, leaning against the wall of the clinic in his green surgical scrubs.

"Something's up with the guy. He told us all to be down here at one. And I don't think he wants us here for clinic duty. As much as I like to not do what he says when he's clearly trying to mess with someone, curiosity has me," Foreman replied.

"He could want you down here doing _his_ clinic duty." Foreman nodded. After a pause, Chase said, "can I tell you something?"

"What," Foreman replied blandly. It was 1:05 and still nothing had happened.

"I think Cameron still likes House."

"Oh, god, Chase; don't come to me with your relationship troubles."

"Well who else am I supposed to go to?"

"You could go to House, he's a real caring guy," Foreman snarked. At this moment, House pushed the door to the clinic open. Foreman and Chase both watched him like a hawk. Taub was in an exam room, as was Kutner. Thirteen strutted up beside the two doctors.

"What do you really think is going to happen?" she asked, not so quietly. They both shot her a glance and Foreman shushed her quietly.

House limped up beside Cuddy, who was seemingly looking through a file. He snaked his arm around her back and rested his hand on her hip, causing Foreman's eyebrow to raise and Thirteen to settle her full attention on the two. Chase chuckled lightly and figured House had gotten them all there to make a fool out of Cuddy.

From the distance they couldn't hear what House was saying, but he seemed to be saying something to Cuddy. They turned to face each other and House's hand dropped from her hip. They seemed to be arguing about something.

Dismissing it as nothing, Foreman and 13's attention began to drift back to the charts they were holding. However, both of their eyes shot up at the sound of Chase's gasp.

House and Cuddy were not only pressed together, but their lips were too. His free hand was on her ass. It was momentary and suddenly they were walking away. Together. Holding hands.

Foreman stood with his jaw dropped for a good minute and a half. Thirteen shrugged it off and went back to work, sure it was simply a prank or dare or something. Chase muttered something about finding Cameron and walked off.

*****

"I can't believe we actually did that," Cuddy said, collapsing into the driver's seat of her car. She had decided last week to use a couple of her vacation days by signing up for half days all week. The plan had been to relax a little, but now she was just going to hang out with House. He didn't bother to sign himself up too, as he just tended to come and go as he liked.

"Hell of a kiss though. We should kiss in public more often. We shoulda videotaped it. The look on Foreman's face was priceless. Too bad Cameron wasn't there!" House was practically glowing.

"She'll hear about it from Chase anyway. God, I hope it doesn't get back around to the hospital board."

"Ehh, don't worry about those old guys. The only reason they'd be mad is because you chose me over them."

"Stevens did always look down my blouse, like a real creep," she said, starting the car and pulling out of her primo parking space. House leaned over and obviously looked down her shirt, causing her to giggle. He sat back in his seat with a smile and absentmindedly massaged her thigh as they drove in silence back to Lisa's house.

*****

"…and then they walked out together, holding hands! It was shocking and…and…hilarious!" Chase found the right word and doubled over in laughter. "Cuddy seemed surprised that he did it, too…but then they walked out holding hands, so it didn't make sense." He took in the look on Cameron's face. Only someone who knew her so well would notice the jealousy underneath her expression of disgust. Chase decided to ignore it for a moment, in hope that it was just what he expected to see and not what was actually there. "Allison, do you know what this means? I just won like three hundred bucks! I'm takin' you out to dinner!" Cameron stood up and walked over to look through the cabinets, with her back to Chase.

"Well, that's expected I guess."

"What'd'you mean? That I won the pool or that I'm taking you out to dinner?" Chase hoisted himself up from his seat on the couch and stood behind Cameron, her back still to him.

"Nothing, never mind," she said. He took her shoulders and turned her around so she faced him. With exasperation, he dropped his hands off her shoulders and started for the door. "What?"

"You're not over him are you," he said, stopping just in front of the door and not bothering to turn around and face her, just as she had done such a short time previous.

"Of-of course I am!" Cameron stuttered slightly, seemingly appalled that he would think that.

"No, you're not. Face it." And with that, Chase exited the lounge.

*****

Suddenly House started chuckling as he pushed through Cuddy's fridge to grab a beer. She had stocked her fridge just for him.

"Right now, Foreman's probably still standing there staring, Chase is telling Cameron and probably embellishing a little because we all know he has a guy-crush on me and Cameron is probably pretending not to care. Life is good." He grabbed a bottle of water for Lisa and joined her on the couch.

"I wonder what it's going to be like when we go back in tomorrow."

"I'm gonna ignore it, and I'm gonna try to run into Cameron whenever possible. Ooh, and with a dreamy look on my face!" House added jokingly.

Not really knowing what to do with the grin on his face, foreign previous to Friday, she kissed it. And kissed it again. House started to unbutton her shirt.

*****

Because Cuddy wasn't there, Chase walked straight from the lounge to his car without having to worry about getting fired. He drove the short distance to his apartment, stumbled inside, grabbed a beer and collapsed on the couch. Two hours later, he was doing the same thing only with scotch.

"What does she see in him anyway," Chase stuttered drunkenly. "He's a fricken gimp."

Meanwhile Cameron sat on the couch in her apartment, nursing a beer and considering what Chase had said. Suddenly she set the almost full beer down and headed down the street to Chase's apartment.

"I'm sorry," she exploded as he opened the door. "You're right, I'm not over House. Not completely anyway," she said, walking in to his apartment without being asked. She stepped close to him. "The truth is, something deep inside me likes House, even though I can't have him." Chase glared with his mouth in a tight line. "The other truth is, not-so-deep down, I _love_ you, more than I ever liked House." She took another step forward and rested her hands on his chest. "You're smart and funny, just like House, but you're also sweet and kind, not like House. And now I'm going to stop talking about House, because I get the feeling it's disproving my point." She finished her speech and looked into Chase's eyes, hoping for a glimmer of forgiveness.

"I'll wait for you," he said, "I'll wait until you're completely over House." He stepped to the side, clearing the way out of the apartment. Cameron, looked from him to the entryway and back before sighing and gliding out.


	16. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! Finally, chapter 15... Thanks so much for all the reviews! My fellow writers understand that they really mean a lot.**

**I've been getting more and more writing done lately as procrastination instead of summer reading and math, so I'll probably post again soon! **

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Chapter 15

House was awoken the next day by soft, familiar lips on his. Grinning, he opened his eyes. When their lips parted, he said,

"That was quite a wake-up call."

"Well, I was going to let you sleep, but I figured you probably wanted to join me in the shower," she said before kissing her way from his chest to his neck.

"Hmm…y'know, I think I'll take you up on that offer," he said with his eyes closed as he enjoyed the feeling of her mouth on his earlobe.

Finally reaching his lips, she kissed him passionately before grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him towards the adjoining bathroom.

********

An hour later, they were helping each other get dressed.

"Do you mind if I stay here? Does it bother you?" House asked suddenly, making a completely out of character move.

"No, god no," Lisa replied, "I don't really know what I'd do if you weren't here. What makes you ask that?" She buttoned his jeans and playfully shoved her fingers through the hole created by the un-zipped zipper.

"Well," he said, pausing to laugh as her fingers played with his junk, "I was gonna say that after work I need to stop by my apartment, 'cause I didn't really bring enough clothes. And I didn't want to make it look like I was renewing my stay here if you didn't want me to."

Lisa caught his gaze and held it for a moment, her steely blue stare meeting his ocean blue. She reached up and stroked his cheek before simply stating, "I love you." She didn't really expect him to say it back; she knew he was iffy on stating his feelings.

He looked at her for a moment before picking a blue top up off the couch and sliding it over her head. Just when it seemed like he really wasn't going to address her admission, he took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. When they came apart, he refused to let go of her. "I love you too," he whispered softly before kissing her again.

*******

Once they were on the road to the hospital after a cup of coffee, Lisa remembered the case she had planned to give House.

"Oh, I have a case for you by the way," she said, motioning to her briefcase that sat at House's feet. "File's in there." House flipped through the briefcase and pulled out the navy blue file before sighing.

"C'mon, Cuddy," he said, using her 'work' name, "this is _so_ easy-…wait…what? How's that work," he wondered out loud, seeing the mystery in the case.

"I figured that'd be your reaction," she said, pulling into her parking spot.

******

They walked in side-by-side, giving a smiley 'I'll see you later' as they parted ways, causing the nurse at the front desk to raise an eyebrow and quickly leave to gossip to the other nurses. House chuckled and headed up to his office.

"We've got a case," House said upon entering the diagnostic's lounge. The team stared dumbfounded up at him from their places around the glass table. "What?" Taub looked at Thirteen, who looked at Kutner who sighed and nodded before looking back up at House.

"Are you and Cuddy together?" He asked nervously.

"That is absolutely none of your business. This kid, however, is completely your business. He's got-"

"So we'll take that as a 'yes'," Thirteen interrupted him with a smile. House sighed.

"You'll take that as a 'that is absolutely none of your business'. Now can we move on from me and focus on this kid?"

"No," Taub stated simply.

"Why do you guys care so much?"

"Because we desperately want PPTH to be more like the hospital in Gray's Anatomy," Taub said sarcastically.

"Can I be McDreamy?" House snarked before plopping the file on the table. "Solve this, and leave me the hell alone." He turned and limped to his office, his grin going unnoticed by the ducklings as his back was turned.

*****

_the team practically interrogated me. I didn't tell them anything and now I think they are talking about us instead of the case. I'm pretty sure I just overhead Taub call us 'huddy'. Oh dear lord. Love, house_

He backspaced the last part and changed it to 'Love, Greg" before sending it to 'Partypants'. Moments later, he got a response.

_'Huddy'? That's cute! I wonder if that's what the rest of the hospital calls us. My assistant asked me if you and I were together, and I said yes. Nurse Brenda asked me too. Have you seen Cameron yet? She looks kinda pissed. Love, Lisa_

_I sure as hell hope they don't call us 'huddy', that's just ridiculous. I haven't seen Cameron yet; I'm thinking about paying the ER a visit. Oh, did I tell you? Taub mentioned Gray's Anatomy when trying to get me to acknowledge us. My team is a bunch of morons._

_You want me to stop by your office, entertain both you _and_ the team?_

_more than life itself. See you soon._

****

Ten minutes later, Lisa Cuddy rode the elevator up to the fourth floor. There was a nurse in the elevator with her who kept looking at her. Cuddy was relieved when the awkward ride to the fourth floor was over.

The ducklings were invested in the case when she walked by the lounge so they didn't notice her. House's blinds were open, however, so once she was inside his office they would surely notice her.

She smiled at the sight of him. It was a hot summer day so he had shed his sports coat and was standing in the middle of his office, presumably waiting for her and throwing the ball against the wall with his cane. When she entered, he set the ball down and pecked her on the lips. They sat down on his chair, House in the chair part and Cuddy on the foot rest.

Foreman noticed first. "Is that Cuddy?"

"We need to focus on the case. As soon as we finish this, we can go to the clinic. I need to find Chase, get my money," Taub said.

"You actually put money into those pools?" 13 asked.

"They went to the Lupus Awareness dinner together. If anything was a sign that they were gonna get together, that was."

Meanwhile, Wilson leapt over the dividing wall between his and House's balconies and entered his friend's office.

"Oh, hey, you two," he said, not expecting to see Cuddy there as well. He grabbed House's desk chair and pulled it over. "So..?"

"What do you want, Wilson," House grumbled.

"You two kissed…in public…" Wilson raised his eyebrows and motioned with his hands for the couple to tell him the story behind the move.

"We wanted people to find out, but we didn't want to awkwardly tell people," Cuddy said.

"So you guys are seriously together now?"

"Yeah. Don't make such a big deal out of it," House mumbled.

"But it _is_ a big deal! Do you realize how much of the hospital is talking about you? I can't go anywhere without being hit with a wall of questions. They're afraid to ask you but apparently they aren't afraid to ask me."

"Sorry to interrupt, but we think it's the flu with a rare complication," Kutner said, poking his head in the door.

"Run tests, treat, whatever," House replied, nodding. The flu fit.

"So, wait, does this mean that you two are together or not?" Kutner said, sure that he would finally get an answer from Wilson at least.

Grinning, Wilson said 'yes' and Lisa and House both face-palmed.


	17. Chapter 16

**Heeey! Is anyone else big on procrastination? I have a big summer reading assignment, and I feel like every time I come on to type my notes I end up opening the 'Tension' document instead of notes. Hm. It must be a disease. I need Dr. House.**

**Enjoy!! Thanks for my previous reviews!!! I'd LOVE more!! **

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Chapter 16

"So, can we stop by my apartment on the way to your place?"

"Yes, just give me a sec." House plopped down on Lisa's couch to wait. It was one in the afternoon and House had held off on eating lunch to wait for Lisa. He tapped his cane as his stomach growled.

"My assistant Betsy is currently staring at us don't look now!" She added the last part as she saw his head snap up. The sound of his chuckling caused her to laugh too. "Okay, let's go," she grabbed her stylish briefcase and strutted over to where House was standing up. Just for Betsy's entertainment, Lisa stood on her tiptoes and kissed House. They kissed passionately for a good thirty seconds and then headed out hand in hand. House didn't particularly like holding hands, but he found the look on Betsy's face amusing.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Betsy," Lisa said, smiling.

"Uh, yes, see you tomorrow, Dr. Cuddy," Betsy said, her eyes glued to whatever sat on top of her desk.

When they got to the door, after receiving several odd looks and raised eyebrows, they both burst out laughing.

"Did you see Betsy's face? When we were kissing, it was like she was watching a soap opera. And then when we walked by, she was trying to pretend that she didn't notice." Lisa was still laughing as she slid into the driver's seat.

"Wilson said she won almost two hundred bucks in those pools. I should've put in some money, but I couldn't predict when, if ever."

"How much did Wilson win?"

"He lost two hundred. But he's still thrilled. He just thought it would take us longer."

They drove in silence for a few minutes before Lisa pulled up next to House's motorcycle. House carried his backpack in and filled it with more clothes, grabbing a duffle bag as well. Grabbing a new bottle from his Vicodin stash, he wandered back in to the main room.

"Why are all your books medical or biography?" She craned her neck, trying to see to the top shelf of the floor-to-ceiling bookcases.

"I don't like to read things that aren't fact," he said. He picked up his motorcycle helmet from the couch and admired it. "Come for a motorcycle ride with me," he blurted out.

"What?"

"Come for a ride with me," he said, motioning to the helmet. "I haven't gone for a couple of days and I miss it."

"Oh, I don't know, Greg…isn't it dangerous?" She took a few steps closer to him.

"I'm not a bad driver, and you can wear the helmet. I wouldn't do anything to put you in danger," he said, putting his arms around her.

"Well…okay. Back roads only."

"Okay," he said, excitedly. "You want to go to Ellen's for lunch?"

"Sounds good," she replied. House pulled on his leather jacket and they started for the door. They threw House's bags into Lisa's car and approached the bike.

"Hold on one sec," House said, limping quickly back up the walk to his apartment. Inside, he grabbed his old leather jacket from the closet and thud-stepped back to the street. "Here, try this on," he said, sliding the jacket onto her shoulders and stepping back.

"It's a little big," she said, looking down at her torso.

"Noooo," he replied sarcastically, "a jacket that fits six-foot-three me is a little big on five-seven you. But I think you look great in it," he added the last part seriously, pushing her bangs behind her ear. "I just want you to be safe," he said softly, taking her face in his hands. She smiled and they kissed for a moment.

"Okay, let's do this," he said, straddling the Repsol motorcycle and clipping the cane in it's holster. "Just swing your leg over the side and put your foot here, on both sides," he said when he saw the look on her face. After securing the helmet, she took his shoulders and plopped down, resting her hands on his hips.

"Like this?"

"You're gonna want to hold on tighter than that," he said with a chuckle. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms around him. "If you want me to stop, tap my shoulder." And with that, the motorbike roared to life.

*****

He liked the feeling of Lisa pressed up against him. She held on tight, but at the stop sign he turned around and she was grinning.

Five minutes into their ride, Lisa tapped his chest and motioned to the right. Cameron was in the driver's seat of the blue Prius driving in the lane to their right and a little in front of them. House started laughing; clearly she hadn't noticed them. He redirected his eyes on the road and sped up, passing her car and dropping back to the speed limit when they were a few yards in front of her. Not wanting to be too obvious, they both refrained from turning around to see if Cameron reacted.

House grinned as he came up to a stoplight and came to a halt. Cameron's Prius stopped smoothly next to them. Nonchalantly, and accidentally simultaneously, Greg and Lisa turned their heads to look at Cameron. She looked over as well. Cuddy smiled and waved before gripping House tighter. House nodded at her and stroked Cuddy's arms. When the light flipped to green, House roared off, leaving Cameron sitting, jaw jutting out, brow knotted, steely glare jetting out into the empty street.

Ten minutes of grinning and laughing later, House pulled in to a handicap parking space in front of Ellen's Diner.

"That was…hilarious!" Lisa said, putting emphasis on the last word. House, grinning, put his arm around her waist as they walked in.

"That was perfect. What are the odds of that," he said grinning.

"Well, hello there Greg! Haven't seen you so smiley in ages. Lisa, I think you're good for 'em," Ellen called from behind the counter.

Lisa smiled and squeezed Greg with the arm that was wrapped around him. Greg let his eyes drop to the ground and shoved his free hand in his pocket.

They sat down in the same booth they sat in on Friday and ordered their food, the same as before. It came quickly and, both being starving, they ate it fast. While they ate, they talked about their event on the ride down, and how much Lisa enjoyed the motorcycle. Being that it was June and pretty hot, they both shed their jackets but Lisa kept looking at hers. House had an idea.

After saying goodbye to Ellen and Marvin an hour after their arrival, they mounted the motorcycle and road back to switch to Lisa's car and grab Greg's bags.

*****

"Let's do that again some time," Lisa said, snaking her arms around Greg's neck. They stood next to the orange bike and they were both clad in their jackets. Greg slipped his arms into her jacket and around her waist.

"Thank you for going with me. You actually enjoyed that?"

"Yes, I did." They smiled at each other for a moment, House's cheeks starting to hurt because he wasn't used to smiling that much. "That thing with Cameron was hilarious," she said, running her thumb over his cheek.

"Oh god, I have to call Wilson about that one." They kissed lightly and slid into the car, heading for Lisa's house.

*****

"And you didn't take a picture?" Wilson exclaimed, laughing. House was sitting on the comfortable couch in Wilson's office, just having finished telling him about their run-in with Cameron the afternoon before.

"No, but that image is burned into my brain for forever. Priceless. I think Cameron was jealous of Lisa." House cocked an eyebrow when Wilson got a dreamy smile on his face. "What?"

"Lisa," Wilson cooed.

"What about her?"

"You called her Lisa. Instead of Cuddy."

"Did you call Amber 'Volakis'?"

"Do you love Lisa?"

"Yes," House replied without hesitation. Wilson's jaw dropped and then morphed into a massive grin. House took two Vicodin and limp-ran out of his friend's office.

******

**Review!! Tell me what you think!!**


	18. Chapter 17

**Heeey! Sorry about the wait, I'm finally cracking down on that damn summer reading. It might end up being another wait before 18 comes; I've decided I'm not going to write more until I've finished my AP assignments. I'm almost done though so no worries. So, enjoy and review!! Thanks so much for all the previous reviews!**

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Chapter 17

House thought about the apparent lack of undiagnosable-by-the-common-doctor-medical-mysteries as he flipped through pages of images online. Grinning when he found the perfect one, he filled out the order form.

*****

"Hello, Betsy," House said, stopping to freak out Lisa's assistant on the way to her office.

"Uhm, hello, uhm, Dr. House," Betsy said nervously. He had heard really bad things about the ruggedly handsome man. Why was he being nice to her?

"How are you today?" He asked pleasantly.

"I'm, uh, good. How are you?"

"I'm excellent. Have a nice day."

"You, uh, too."

*****

"I like leaving work early," he said, limping into Lisa's office with his backpack slung around his shoulder. "I also like eating lunch somewhere not called 'the hospital cafeteria'."

"So do I. Why were you talking to Betsy?"

"Did you see her squirm? It was hilarious! I love being nice to people when they react like that." Cuddy just grinned and shook her head.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes."

"Where do you want to go for lunch? See you tomorrow, Betsy," she added as they walked through from her office into the lobby.

"Bye, Hud-I mean, Dr. Cuddy and Dr. House." Shit, Betsy thought to herself. I have to stop referring to them as Huddy. It's getting too natural.

"How about… You want to go on another ride? I bet we can find a place. Our jackets are still in the car.

"Okay," Lisa smiled. She kissed him on the cheek before walking around to the driver's side.

When they got in the car, Greg kissed her on the lips.

*****

Lisa parked the car in Greg's usual spot (his car was in her driveway) and they mounted the motorcycle. Lisa really loved the jacket, even though the sleeves were a little too long and the leather was worn. They rode around for a while, Lisa running her hands over Greg's chest and under his shirt, causing him to almost run off the road a couple times. They were both happier than they had been in ages.

Eventually they found a diner and pulled in. The waiter flirted with Lisa a little, Greg tensing up in the process. When Greg's cane 'accidentally' slipped and landed on the waiter's foot, he shut up and didn't look at Lisa for the rest of their meal. Luckily Lisa didn't notice or she would've been mad.

"Listen, I want to take you out on a real date," he said, pushing his plate away.

"What do you mean, a 'real' date?"

"We went to the fundraiser together on Friday, that was a date. We've spent every night together since and so far we've eaten burgers, salads, Reuben's, turkey and whatever the hell it is you put on your sandwiches."

"Tofu," she said with a laugh.

"Ew. Anyway, on Friday, let me take you to Fetucci's," he said, handing his credit card to a waiter. The one that had hit on Lisa had disappeared.

"Actually, my sister is coming to town and decided that she would stay with me. Without asking me if I was okay with that. She'll be here from Friday afternoon to Sunday night. So…"

"So you want me to get out and you'd love for me to meet her. But, I've met her before and she is frankly unbearable, even you think so. So, I'm going to hire the services of," he drew this out a little when he saw Lisa's disgusted face, "of Wilson, monster trucks and booze."

After a few moments of silence, Lisa took his hands and whispered, "Thank you." House just nodded and flashed his cute half smile. They stood, Greg snaking his arm around her waist and resting his hand on her hip. She squeezed him back.

"You'd tell me if you were worried that we're moving too fast, right?" Lisa asked, cradling the helmet in her hands.

"Actually I probably wouldn't. Not much of a talker. But if you're asking, my staying at your place after twenty years," he emphasized a lot, "is _not_ moving too fast. Not fast at all. Like, crawling." Lisa giggled and threw her arms around his neck.

"I guess you're right," she said and pecked him on the lips.

"Why? Are you worried?"

"No. I'm happy if you're…the House-ian equivalent of happy."

House felt a little awkward at the display of emotion, so he mounted the motorcycle. Lisa pulled the helmet on and did the same, pressing close behind him. Greg kicked the bike to life and they sped off.

*****

The next few days went by similarly to the previous. On Friday House went down to the ER to 'find a case'…a.k.a. piss off Cameron.

"Anything look good? Other than me, of course. I'm taken," House said, leaning against the island across from where Cameron was reading a file.

After a glare, Cameron said, "You know where the files are, go look."

"Ooo, feisty," he said. "After that look, I'm feeling kind of frisky. I'm gonna go find Lisa. Lisa Cuddy. I call her 'Lisa' because we're together. _Together_ together. Anyway, you're welcome to sit in, so to speak. If you want." He gave her a sarcastic smile and limped away with a grin on his face.

*****

"I heard you ran into Cameron today," Lisa said from behind her desk. House closed the door behind him and took a few more steps into the office.

"How the hell would you hear that, it happened like an hour ago!"

"I heard it from Betsy who heard it from Nurse Wendy who heard it from Brenda who saw it happen."

"I'll be damned if there's no Wilson in that equation, he's like the Gossip Queen of this hospital."

"Anyway, Greg, you can't go around rubbing us in Cameron's face! I feel bad for her."

"You feel bad for her because she couldn't get with me?"

"No. Well, yes. Sort of. I feel bad for her because after you and I got together, the first time, Chase and Cameron broke up because Chase realized she's not over you."

"Oh, I see. You had your brunch meeting with Wilson this morning. The Gossip Queen lives on." Lisa responded with a laugh.

"Just please, don't rub it in Cameron's face any more," she said, stepping into his arms.

"Okay." Greg inhaled the sweet smell of her shampoo for a moment while she kissed his neck gently. "So, your sister is coming tonight."

"Yep," she said between kisses.

"So I'm not going to see you until Sunday night," he stated.

"Unfortunately. I need to leave to pick her up at the airport in like ten minutes."

"Well, that's enough time."

"Greg! I'm not having sex with you in my office!"

"I know, I know. I'm just kidding. One can only wish…"

"You'll get plenty on Sunday. I'll call you the second she leaves. I'll text you all weekend."

"Okay. I love you," he said softly.

"I love you too." The kissed for a moment before Lisa pulled away. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

"I know." She grabbed her bag and slung it on her shoulder. "Oh, how are you going to get to your place later?"

"Wilson took me back earlier and I rode my bike here."

"Okay. Love you," she said and kissed him again.

"Love you too," he replied. He followed her out into the clinic and watched her ass sway as she headed for the door. When she was fully out of site, he headed to the elevator and back to his office.

******

**you know the drill, people! Review, review, review! Thanks so much!**


	19. Chapter 18

**Heeeeeere's Osama! Lisa's sister is here and House is momentarily lost without her. Read, Review and Enjoy! I will try to post again before the world ends and school starts....*sigh*...Wednesday is coming all too fast. On the other hand, it means September 21st is coming too!! yay!**

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Chapter 18

House sat around in his office for an hour or so before slipping on his Model-B jacket and grabbing his backpack. On his way out, he stuck his head into Wilson's office.

"Monster trucks, seven o'clock," he verified.

"I'll bring the Chinese food," Wilson replied.

*****

When House got home, he looked around his apartment. It was almost foreign to him; he'd been there minimal time in the past week. He flung his jacket onto the back of the couch and limped into the kitchen, his stomach rumbling.

He frowned when he opened the fridge. There was nothing there but three beers and some unidentifiable food object in a take-out container. Similar story with the cupboards: three things he couldn't identify, a bag of slightly stale chips and a granola bar.

He pushed the things he couldn't identify into the garbage can and looked down into his sink. Two plates and some forks. He washed them, with soap, and put them in their rightful places. Then he realized what he was doing.

"Holy shit, I'm cleaning," he muttered aloud to himself. "And talking to myself. That's not good." Shaking his head, he grabbed a beer and the chips and headed out to the living room.

After flipping the television on, he grabbed his phone and texted Lisa.

_I think I just cleaned the kitchen. Time for your sister to leave so that I can have something to do_

Lisa laughed aloud when she read the text. Glad that her sister was getting settled in upstairs so she didn't have to explain, she texted him back.

_Invite Wilson over!_

_He's coming at 7_

_good. I'll call you when Rebecca goes to sleep._

_I'll talk to you then._

He snapped the phone closed just in time to watch it die. With a sigh he got up and limped, caneless, over to the desk. He pushed some stuff around and located a cord. He plugged his phone in and turned his attention back to the TV.

There was some show on, a British comedy sketch show. Two goofy looking guys were doing a hospital sketch and one of them was dressed up like a woman. It was kind of funny, and when that sketch ended one came on set in a veterinarian clinic. While goofy, it was also funny and he found himself chuckling slightly.

After a couple more sketches, the show ended and House sat down at the piano bench. He played for half an hour, until his rumbling stomach got louder than the piano. With a sigh he grabbed his cane and his helmet and headed for the closest grocery store.

**

Two kinds of chips, Oreos, cookie dough, soda, beer and ice cream. These were the items in House's basket when he stepped up to the checkout. After he paid, he shoved the items in his backpack and rode back home. It was only four, so he ate some chips and read the latest medical journal as he waited for time to pass.

**

Lisa chatted with her sister, Rebecca, for a while before they headed out to dinner. Rebecca was a serious talker so Lisa just had to nod her head and smile. Although Lisa loved her sister, it was only a short time before she was ready for her to go home. Lisa could only take so much talking.

*****

Wilson showed up at 7:05 with a ton of Chinese food. House already had a beer out for him and forks. They dug in and watched the rally in companionable silence.

"You miss her already, don't you," Wilson said, sitting back on the couch.

"Why do you say that," House said through a mouthful of pork-fried rice.

"You keep looking at your phone, but you don't have a case." House just shrugged and pushed the carton away. "I always knew you liked her but I never expected you to fall this hard," Wilson said with a smile.

"I haven't fallen," House muttered.

"You said yourself, you're in love with her!"

"That doesn't mean I've fallen. And I should've never told you that."

"Yes, it means you've fallen. In love, anyway."

"Damn you."

*****

Once past the topic of Lisa, House seemed to have fun the rest of the night. Wilson went home at 10:30. The minute he was gone, House sent a text to Lisa.

_How is it going?_

Five minutes later, he still hadn't received a text back. He tapped his foot impatiently as ER droned on in the background. When "You Can't Always Get What You Want" echoed through the apartment, House picked it up immediately.

"Lisa," he said, pressing the power button on the TV with the end of his cane. He had been pacing and now plopped down on the piano bench.

"Hi, Greg," she said softly.

"How are you? How's your sister?"

"I think she's happy to be here. She's going to Europe after this so she's excited about that. She has a bit of jet lag, though."

"So she's asleep in the guest room which is downstairs?"

"Yes, why?"

"Don't leave your room."

"Oh Greg don't-" was all she could get out before he hung up. While she was worried that her sister was going to find him there, she was thrilled to see him again even though she had seen him last only ten or twelve hours previous. She grinned as she pulled on her short pajama shorts and white cami.

******

**Comments are hugely appreciated, people! Huddy 3**


	20. Chapter 19

**Slightly shorter than usual, but I just wanted to get another one up before school starts. Tomorrow is the end of the world, so enjoy this chapter while you can!! Haha. Oh, and I wrote a little phone conversation between Stacy and Wilson about House going to Mayfield, so go check that out if you get a chance! It's called 'Click' and it's up on here. Thanks so much, read review and enjoy!!**

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Chapter 19

"Knock knock," House called through the open window. He sat on the edge and swung his bad leg over.

"Hey," Lisa said, helping him through. "How'd you get up here?" she asked pulling a twig from his hair.

"That tree is really climbable," he said, leaning back against the wall and pulling her to him.

"You climbed a tree?"

"Yeah. I did it after I got shot, too."

"Well yeah I remember that. But you didn't feel any pain then. Are you okay?"

"I took like eight Vicodin before the first limb."

"Idiot," she said, playfully hitting him on the shoulder, "don't take that much!" Her hands, entwined around his neck, pulled his head to hers and their lips made contact. Their tongues tangoed as Greg pushed her back onto the bed and straddled her hips.

"Wait," Lisa said, severing the connection between their mouths. Greg moved his lips to her neck as he muttered, "What."

"We can't have sex."

"Why in hell not?"

"My sister is here."

"Soooo…"

"If she caught us, she'd never let me live it down."

"She won't catch us."

"I don't want to risk it."

"You don't want to have sex with me?" House looked up with a mock-appalled expression.

"No, it's not that."

"So lock the door and let's go." He waggled his eyebrows, causing her to giggle.

"Fine, get off me," she gave in, pushing him off her and running over to lock the door. When she turned around, Greg was sitting on the end of her bed in jeans, no shirt and no shoes. Lisa stopped in her tracks. "That's gotta be the sexiest image in the world," she muttered. Lisa straddled his lap, wrapping her legs around his back and running her hands over his chest.

"Nooo, that'd be you, pretty much all the time." Greg's sweet remark took her breath away, and she stared, paralyzed, into his eyes. "What?" he said with a smile.

"You…said something nice…genuinely nice…"

"So? I've said plenty of nice things to you."

"But not like that. You've said that I'm good in bed, you've complimented my ass, you told me you liked how I looked by bringing me into the same room as a guy with frontal lobe inhibition, but…" Greg silenced her by placing a finger on her soft lips.

"I love you," he said in all seriousness.

A smile crept across Lisa's face.

"I love you too."

*****

Lisa woke up at four and pulled on her shirt. She didn't feel comfortable sleeping naked when her sister was in the house. Then she cuddled back up to House's side and buried her face in his neck. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." House just grunted in reply and went back to sleep.

*****

Greg was gone when she woke up again around nine. A note sat on top of her pink Razor cell phone, and in his scrawling hand was written, "Lisa, call me tonight and I'll come again. Cameron found us a case. Love you, Greg." He had first started to write 'House' but crossed it out. Smiling, Lisa rolled out of bed to get ready for a day with her talkative sister.

House went home and changed before riding to work on his bike. He skipped the helmet to feel the summer wind through his hair. Eighty degrees and a sunny June day, and House was feeling pretty good about himself. Love can do strange things to a man.

*****

"Gooood morning! Cameron called, she said we had a case."

"Well yeah, but…it's Saturday. We didn't expect you to actually show up," Kutner said.

"You mean you didn't expect me to be a responsible, hardworking doctor? Good. You know me well. Start up the DDX."

*****

Two hours later, the ducklings were doing tests and Cameron came into his office.

"How's the case going?" she asked.

"Fine. I actually think it's Lupus. They're running an A&A. How's yours?"

"What?"

"How's your case going?"

"What are you talking about? I don't have a case. Actually I have a bunch of them but I refuse to believe you're asking how my job is going."

"Actually, I was asking how your case with Chase is going." When Cameron scowled, he said, "surely you've heard, Wilson has been crowned Hospital Gossip Queen for the third year in a row. He polishes his tiara every day, twice a day."

She glared at him for a minute before turning on her two-inch heel and strutting out.

*****

**Review it up, people! **


	21. Chapter 20

**Dun. Dun. Duuuuuuun.**

**I don't know what to say about this one.**

**Soo...read and review.**

**Oh and go check out my one-shot called 'Click' if you haven't already! Thanks a ton!**

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Chapter 20

He limped into his apartment singing and upbeat tune. He opened the blinds and let the sun shine in. He was cheerful for a ton of reasons, maybe even happy for once. He pulled out his new bottle of Vicodin and popped two.

He fiddled around on the piano and guitar for a couple hours until his stomach growled. He ordered a pizza and flipped through channels until it came. Pizza in hand, he settled on another episode of that sketch comedy show he had been watching a couple days previous.

*****

By nine he was getting antsy to see Lisa again. After pacing around and thinking about her for a while, and sending her multiple texts with no answer, he sat down at the piano and let his thoughts pour out through his fingers.

Not even he recognized the piece he was playing. It was beautiful, legato and flowing. It took him a few minutes before he realized he was improvising. He stopped abruptly and played it again, matching the improv piece note for note. He played it over and over until he had it memorized before creating the next part.

By ten, it was finished and he had played it multiple times. Smiling, he printed a blank staff off the internet and tabbed his song onto it. Every few moments he would look over at his cell phone, the LED screen remaining black. She was supposed to have called by now, or at least texted him back. Pushing it to the back of his mind, Greg sat for a while to think of something to put on the title line of the sheet music.

*****

"House! Open up!" Wilson pounded on the door. With no answer, he used his key and let himself in. "House, wake up," he said, shaking him. House was fast asleep on the couch with a page of sheet music clutched to his chest.

"Shit, Wilson, what do you want," he said, pushing Wilson's hand off his shoulder. Wilson crouched down next to him.

"You need to get up and come to the hospital with me," he said forlornly.

"Why the hell do I need to do that?" House's eyes were still closed, so he didn't see the look of fear and sadness on Wilson's face.

"Because Cuddy and her sister were in a car accident."

He spun himself into a sitting position and his eyes snapped open in one swift movement.

"They _WHAT_?"

"Car accident. Lisa is stable but her sister isn't as fortunate so far. C'mon," Wilson said, grabbing House by the wrist and tugging him out the door.

*****

Wide-eyed and almost in a trance, House followed Wilson into the ICU. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Lisa laying on the pristine white hospital bed.

With a sympathetic look, Wilson looked from his friend to Lisa and back. "C'mon," he said softly, leading him to the bed. A frazzled doctor came in the room.

"No visitors this late."

"We're doctors."

"I'm not an idiot, and I'm going to need to ask you to leave."

"We _are_ doctors. I'm Dr. James Wilson, head of Oncology," he flashed his hospital ID, "and this is Dr. Gregory House," he motioned towards House, who was staring wide-eyed at his beautiful girlfriend laying on the bed.

The doctor's eyes grew wide when he heard House's name. That guy could do some serious damage.

"Sorry to have bothered you," he said before hastily exiting.

*****

Wilson pulled a chair over so House could sit down. He absentmindedly stroked Lisa's hand while a tear glistened in his eyes.

"She's stable, but her right leg is broken and so are a few of her ribs. One of her ribs pierced her stomach lining so they patched that up. No one told me until just a few minutes before I came to get you. She's gonna be fine, House."

"I had a feeling something was wrong." House's voice was raspy and tortured. "She didn't text me back, but she always texts me back and-"

"Don't you dare blame yourself for this, you had nothing to do with it. And she's going to be fine."

"How is Rebecca?"

"They said she was in surgery. The car hit on the driver's side, she was driving. From what I heard, she's not doing so well."

House buried his face in his left hand, his right still clasped around Lisa's hand. There were little cuts all over her face and arms, and a gash on her forehead that had four or five stitches. Her right leg was elevated and in a cast. Her chart said the crash happened at nine, and it was already three a.m. He couldn't believe neither of them hadn't heard about this sooner.

"I'm gonna go see how Rebecca's surgery is going and I'll try to get her chart." Wilson squeezed House's shoulder and walked out, the sound of his shoes hitting the floor echoing with the beat of the heart monitor.

*****

With Wilson gone, House stood and stroked Lisa's cheek. A drop of water glistened on Lisa's cheek, and it was moment before he realized that had come from him. A few more followed and the warm liquid felt foreign on his face. He wiped them away.

After checking her chart, he calculated that she would wake up from the anesthesia in the next few minutes. When her eyes flickered open, she quickly closed them to keep the light out.

"Hey," he said softly, bending down and kissing her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"What happened?" she croaked, her hand finding his.

"You were in a car accident. You're going to be okay."

"Where's Rebecca?" Her eyes finally opened, her steely blue eyes meeting his.

"Wilson said she was in surgery. I haven't heard much though. He should be back pretty soon."

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"I don't know. I really haven't heard anything."

Lisa's free hand wandered up to the gash on her forehead. "Oh god," she exclaimed when she felt the tiny cuts all over her face.

"You look beautiful," he assured her softly. She mustered a smile up at him.

*****

**Review it up, people! We'll learn about Rebecca next chapter.**


	22. Chapter 21

**WHOA! Did you see the Premiere? Wow. SOOO good!! I'm a Huddy fan (if you couldn't already tell), so I didn't love the Lydia thing. But even so, the premiere was in my opinion the best episode yet!!**

**This one's shorter but big stuff happens. Enjoy! Review review! And thank you so much for all my previous reviews! They really do mean so much!**

**Oh, and if you get a chance, go check out my one-shot called "Hugh and House". It's about Lisa presenting a case to House about some crazy guy named Stephen Fry who is sure House is his old friend Hugh Laurie. Hahaha. I'm still not sure if I'm going to go through the whole process of treating Stephen and all that, but it might happen, who knows!**

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Chapter 21

"Rebecca's situation is…not good," Wilson said. Lisa had fallen asleep and Wilson had beckoned House out into the hallway.

"Shit. What are her chances?"

"Well, her kidneys are failing, her stomach was perforated-"

"-cut the good-doctor oncologist shit. I'm not one of your patients. What are her chances?" House cut him off.

"Well…she needs another surgery but her chances of surviving the surgery are so slim that they aren't even gonna bother," Wilson said with a sympathetic tone.

Tears came to House's eyes as he looked back at Lisa sleeping peacefully, but he refused to cry in front of Wilson.

*****

House sat by her bed for a while she slept. A doctor came in to up her morphine and check her stitches, confirming that she was going to be fine. They wanted to keep her for a day or two to make sure but otherwise she was going to be fine. House sighed in relief.

It was another few minutes after that that House finally registered what Wilson had said. "….she needs another surgery but her chances of surviving the surgery are so slim that they aren't even gonna bother." House's instincts told him to do the surgery. They really had nothing to lose.

*****

He called Wilson to find out what surgery Rebecca needed. With the new details, his frown lines deepened and he told Wilson to set up the surgery.

It was no medical mystery, Rebecca's problems were clear. It was a typical, boring case. He was baffled that for a moment, he actually cared about someone who wasn't Wilson, Lisa or his rational mind. He passed it off as caring for Lisa and sat back in his chair to get some sleep, his fingers intertwined with hers.

*****

They were riding along on his Honda Repsol down a deserted country road. The weather was perfect and the scenery was beautiful. House smiled as she brushed her lips against his earlobe. Why weren't they wearing helmets?

Her fingers ran through his hair and over his scruff, sending sensations up his spine. She wasn't holding on as tight as usual, she seemed much more relaxed. Usually she gripped him tightly, showing that she was cautious. She always seemed to enjoy it, though.

One hand traveled along his bare bicep. Where was his jacket? She wasn't wearing hers either. House felt like he had just woken up in a place different than where he went to sleep. He couldn't remember getting on the motorcycle, in fact he couldn't remember the last thing he did. He distantly remembered a car crash, and Lisa hurt, and Wilson coming to get him in the middle of the night. Something seemed wrong to him, a lot of things seemed wrong to him. He looked to his right as he went to turn and was blinded by the headlights of another car.

*

When he opened his eyes, he felt intense pain everywhere but his right thigh. He sat up on the hot pavement and looked around. There was no sign of another car, no ambulances, nothing. His bike lay in the middle of the right lane and a body was slumped a few feet away from it.

He pulled himself to his feet and ran over to the body. The hair was dark, straight and short but he couldn't see her face. A pool of blood was beginning to form. Cautiously, he pulled her onto her back and gasped when Stacy's pale, blank face stared back at him.

*****

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	23. Chapter 22

**Cannot wait until TONIGHT!! Only 4 hours and twenty minutes! Can't wait to see the huddyness in tonight's episode!!! So here's 22, read and review it up!!! Thanks so much for all my previous reviews too, they are really what keep me going. **

**Oh, and I got a twitter! It's HughLoverMD, and if you add me just tweet me and let me know that you're one of my readers. **

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Chapter 22

He woke with a start in the crisp white hospital room. Lisa's heart monitor beeped with certainty to a familiar rhythm. She was awake and gripped his hand with both of hers.

"Are you okay? You looked like you were in pain, and then you looked disgusted. I was trying to wake you up for a couple minutes."

Greg ran a hand over his face. He was sweating. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"What was your dream about?" Lisa was so caring even though she was the one who needed caring for.

"Nothing. It's not important. I'm gonna go see how your sister's doing. They put her into surgery."

"Okay." As he approached the door, she whispered a "thank you" as the fatigue from the combination of meds took over.

*****

"House!" Wilson called. He had been coming to talk to him and jogged to catch up with the limping man's slow pace. "Rebecca's surgery went great. It actually worked. They're closing her up and bringing her to the recovery room now."

"That's great," House said, a feeling of relief sweeping over him. There was still a huge unidentifiable feeling somewhere inside him.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you your own little version of happy?" Wilson asked as they approached the end of the hall. House turned on his left heel and started back the other way. It became clear to Wilson that he was pacing.

"I am happy. I just…I had a bad dream."

"What was it about? It had to be bad to freak you out."

"It was about Stacy. At least, I think."

Wilson paused for a moment. "Stacy?" He stuttered. "Well…did you…"

"No, nothing bad. We were riding down some back country road on my bike. I thought it was Lisa. We weren't wearing helmets. Some car collided with us, even though there were no cars in sight. It came out of nowhere. I came to on the pavement and went over to my bike. My leg didn't hurt but everything else did. Stacy was collapsed next to the bike." The feeling subsided slightly. But it was still there. Wilson almost smiled when he realized that _House_ was talking to _him_ about his dreams. And voluntarily, to top it all off.

"What did you feel?" Wilson asked the ultimate philosophical question.

"I felt…disgusted."

"Well, my dreams rarely make sense. Don't' worry about it. Go be with your girlfriend…I'll go get you guys some lunch." He slapped his friend on the back and grinned at the word 'girlfriend'.

"Okay." House quickened his step and started towards the ICU.

"And House, don't forget to tell her the good news."

"Okay. Thanks Wilson," he replied without turning around. Wilson started towards the cafeteria and made it three feet before he realized what just happened. House had thanked him. There was no doubt that Lisa Cuddy was the best thing that ever happened to him.

*****

"Reuben, dry, no pickles and a Caesar salad with dressing on the side," Wilson announced as he walked into the room with two bags. "I got it from Brandon's deli, 'cuz, well, we've all had the hospital food."

"Thank you, James," Lisa said with a grin.

"Thanks, observing freak who knows what we like to eat." House grabbed the bags from him and and pulled over the rolling table for Lisa to eat off of.

"Listen, Lisa, I have a feeling your sister is going to be fine. She survived the surgery and as far as I've heard she is doing well. You'll get to see her this afternoon."

"Has she come-to yet?"

"Not yet, but the anesthesia should wear off in less than an hour."

Lisa smiled and forked her salad. House and Wilson had a silent conversation involving raised eyebrows and shrugs. As far as Wilson could tell, that meant House was doing fine after his dream and had already moved on. Wilson was chuckling at his friend's quirkiness as he headed up to his office to get some work done.

It was already 12:30 by the time they had finished their lunch. House balled the trash up and made a shot from across the room. Lisa laughed and clapped for him. Their lips were gently locked when they could feel another presence in the room. Three to be exact.

"Oh, sorry, we'll, uhm," Chase stuttered as he tried to get out of the awkward situation. Foreman stood between Cameron and Chase, and only House would take note that they were still having problems. He was the only one whom that would be obvious to.

"Don't worry about it," Cuddy said, trying not to giggle. House just sat back in his chair and observed the awkwardness.

"We just wanted to see how you're doing," Foreman said in his cool, I-don't-really-want-to-be-here-but-I-want-to-seem-caring-unlike-House way.

"I'm doing great. I'm on a ton of pain meds so I'm not in too much pain. It's just really odd not being able to move my leg," she motioned towards the cast.

"And we heard your sister is doing better. Wilson said she woke up and asked about you," Cameron informed her.

The old team and Cuddy chatted for a bit, House eventually dozing off in his uncomfortable chair. He wasn't in to conversations and small talk.

He woke up an hour later, Lisa's arm around his and his backpack beside his chair. Lisa looked up from the book she was reading and explained.

"Wilson went to my house and your apartment. I had him get your gameboy."

"Oh," he mumbled tiredly. "I'm surprised my new team hasn't stopped by yet. Did you notice that Cameron and Chase still aren't back together?"

"No, Greg, only you notice those things," she said with a chuckle.

*****

**Review review review!!**

**I feel like I forgot something...oh, right! REVIEW!!! :D**


	24. Chapter 23

**One day to a new episode!! Thank you so much for all of my amazing reviews, they really keep me going! Check out my one-shot-turned-short-story called "Hugh and House" if you haven't already. I really need to update that one of these days. :)**

**Oh, and I got a twitter! It's HughLoverMD, and if you add me just tweet me and let me know that you're one of my readers.**

**Tell me what you think!!**

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Chapter 23

"Your sister is awake and asking about you," Wilson announced as he stepped into Lisa's hospital room. Lisa replied with a grin.

"I can't go see her, can I," Lisa said with a sad tone.

"They don't want you getting out of bed yet. On your way out tomorrow, you can stop by. But then you need to go home, and then you're basically on bed rest for a week. That was a serious crash and you need to rest. Between me and your assistant, your job will get done." Wilson almost fell asleep just saying that.

"Okay. Thanks, Wilson. And go get some sleep, you look like you've been up all night." Wilson really did look as if he had been up all night. He was still wearing jeans and a gray T-shirt, the same thing he had been wearing when he came to get House at three that morning. His hair was mussed and his eyes were droopy. He nodded tiredly, motioned to his cell phone to tell them to call him if they needed anything, and shuffled out the door.

****

It was another half an hour before three awkward young doctors stepped into the room.

"Hi, Dr. Cuddy, how are you feeling?" Taub asked, giving a nod towards House.

"I'm feeling okay, Taub, thanks."

"We heard about your sister. They put her back under because she was in a lot of pain, but she'll be okay," 13 said. Cuddy nodded and gave a small smile.

"We did your clinic hours, House. No new cases," Kutner said towards House.

"Thank you," House replied gruffly. This was way too awkward for him.

"Okay…well, feel better, Dr. Cuddy. Call us if you need anything," Thirteen said, heading towards the door. She knew when to back out of a situation.

"Thanks for stopping by," Lisa called from her bed. She helplessly tried to itch her leg, but the cast was in the way. The second the team was out of earshot, the couple burst into laughter.

"You could tell, Taub was dragged down here."

"That was so awkward!" Lisa exclaimed. "Sweet, though."

Greg just nodded. He would hate to be caught thinking something was sweet, even though he did.

*****

The next twenty-four hours went by slowly. Wilson came in the next morning with bagels and looking well rested. A doctor that Cuddy barely remembered hiring came in and tried to get her to stay another night, but House stood and fought until he agreed to let her go home as long as she did nothing for at least a week. The hospital hooked her up with both a wheelchair and crutches. They didn't want her to use the crutches yet because it would put strain on her ribs, but she would use them in six weeks when they were healed. House and Wilson wheeled her out to the car, stopping first by Rebecca's room.

"Lisa," Rebecca said in a raspy voice, smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, the bigger question is how are you?"

"I look awful, I bet, but I am feeling okay. I'm on more drugs than I can count."

"You look great. I probably won't get to visit you much, but I'll send one of these guys to see how you're doing. This is Wilson, my Oncology department head, and this is House, Diagnostics department head." She hesitated a second, about to tell her sister about her relationship with the tall, handsome doctor but she stopped herself. Later she found herself wondering why.

"The doctor said I'll probably get out of here in a week and a half or two," Rebecca croaked.

"They just want to make sure you have a very low risk of getting an infection or straining your stitches. You went through major surgery," Cuddy said. Her voice quivered slightly, House cocking an eyebrow in thought. He could tell the woman he cared for most had been scared shitless by the almost-death of her sister. Now those feelings from the day before were all flooding back. They both knew it was too early for Lisa to be leaving the hospital after such a big event, but she was going to be staying with a brilliant doctor and there was no doubt that Wilson would be hanging around a lot too.

"We should really get you home, you need to rest," Wilson said, saving Lisa who clearly didn't know what to say. Rebecca was on her way to falling asleep anyway.

"Call me if you need anything, sis," Lisa said after nodding to Wilson.

"I…will," Rebecca mumbled.

Wilson took the handles of the wheelchair and rolled Lisa out into the hallway and towards the elevators. When they were out of earshot of Rebecca's room, a few tears leaked from tightly closed eyes. House quickened his limp to catch Lisa's hand in his.

**

House sat in the back seat with Lisa on the way home, much to Wilson's dismay. He held off from saying "I feel like a taxi driver!", knowing his friend was trying to comfort his girlfriend. That made it all worth it.

Surprisingly strong despite the limp, House lifted Lisa out of the car and into the chair. Wilson pushed her up the driveway and they both picked the chair up to get it up the steps. When safely on the wood floor of her foyer, she giggled as Greg made the 'Tim the Tool-man Taylor' sound.

"So are you guys good? You'll call me if you need anything?"

"Yup. Tell my team they can do what they want for the next week, but I'm off and I'm not solving any cases 'til I get back. They're gonna have to live without my brillianceness."

"Okay," Wilson said with a chuckle, "rest," he directed to Lisa and let himself out the screen door.

"So glad that clingy bastard is finally gone," House said loudly and jokingly, knowing full well that Wilson was not out of earshot. They both laughed when Wilson jokingly yelled, "Go to Hell!" from the street.

*****

Greg wheeled Lisa in to the family room and lifted her onto the couch. He could tell already that she was stressing about leaving her work in the hands of Wilson, Betsy and Bobbin.

"You know, Wilson's more than qualified for your job. Cameron's probably going to help him out too, and your assistant and the head nurse. When you get back, your office will be spotless, every file will be alphabetized and all the clinic hours will be done," Greg said, sitting down next to her and handing her a bottle of water.

"I know, it's just-"

"Please don't worry. You should be worrying about going crazy from spending a week straight with me."

"I don't see a bad side to that," Lisa said, snuggling up to his side. She tried to itch her leg again but it didn't work. She could tell she was going to be sick of the damn cast before too long.

"I…love you, and I know I don't say it very often and I don't really know how to show it, but I want you to know that I love you," Greg said softly.

If she had been drinking water, she would've spit it out like in the movies. Hiding her surprise, she wrapper her arms around him and squeezed. "I love you too," she whispered back.

*****

They weren't home for two hours before the flowers started arriving. It seemed every one of her employees had found out and were now sucking up and sending cards. Greg got tired of answering the door after the fourth bouquet and printed a sign off the computer: **Leave it on the porch and go away!**

House got a kick out of answering the door after he put the sign up, when the delivery people were too stupid to read. Twice he pretended he didn't speak English, once he pretended to be hiding from the cops (looking around like something's out to get him, he'd said, "you're not with the police, are you? Please, please don't tell them I'm here! It'd ruin everything!", grabbed the flowers and slammed the door.). He even acted like he'd never seen a flower before, cautiously poking it and then jumping back when it didn't react.

Lisa transitioned in and out of consciousness. The combination of meds made her drowsy. Greg entertained himself by watching TV, messing with delivery men and thinking about ways to keep Lisa's mind off her work.

*****

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**I feel like I forgot something...oh, right! REVIEW!!! :D**


	25. Chapter 24

**Arrrrghhh...two WEEKS to a new episode?? What is this?!?!? I definately can't survive that long....**

**On the up side, Halloween is this Saturday! I'll try to post before then. I'll try to not let this cliff hanger hang for too long this time!**

**Enjoy! Review review review please! (Thanks to all who reviewed before :)**

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Chapter 24

He was in the middle of another episode of that show, which he figured out was called "A Bit of Fry and Laurie", when he remembered something from a week before. It should be here by now. It was only six, so Wilson would still be at work.

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" House asked before Wilson even had a chance to say 'hello'.

"Yeah sure. Is Lisa okay? Why are you whispering?" Wilson asked as he packed his briefcase to leave for the night.

"I ordered something for her last week and it should be at my place by now. It was supposed to be here by today."

"Yeah sure. Need anything else?"

"No, that's- wait. One more thing." After a bit of hesitation, he went on, "on the coffee table or around there somewhere, there's a piece of sheet music, front and back all crammed in really tight. There's nothing on the title line. Could you bring that too?"

"Yeah, sure. But why? Lisa doesn't have a piano."

"I'll figure that out myself."

"Okay. I'll be there in half an hour or less," Wilson said as he locked the door to his office.

"Thank you, Wilson," House said before hanging up, leaving Wilson slightly shocked. House had thanked him. And asked a favor. And it seemed like he was actually doing something nice for Lisa. Wilson grinned as he headed for his silver Volvo, genuinely happy that something was finally going right for his friend.

*****

Greg pulled the door open with his finger to his lips, signaling Wilson to be quiet. He took the paper, standard shipping box and duffle bag from his friend, set them in the foyer amongst flowers and fruit baskets, and stepped out into the warm summer night air to talk to his friend.

"I grabbed you clothes too," Wilson explained.

"Thank you. I got Lisa a present last week for when we go on our bike rides. I guess we won't be going on any for a while, but I thought it might cheer her up anyway."

Wilson grinned.

"What?" House replied to the stupid grin on Wilson's face.

"I'm just not going to say anything, because after this all that's gonna come out will be a children's playground song."

"Oh God," House said, pulling the door open and stepping back inside. "Go get a life, Wilson."

Wilson chuckled as he turned and headed back down the walk.

*****

"Was that Wilson?" Lisa asked groggily, gripping her lower rib cage as she stretched.

"Yeah. Just dropping some stuff off for me." Greg slipped behind the couch and stealthily smuggled his package to the extra bedroom on the lower floor. He knew he wouldn't be able to get Lisa upstairs. He dropped the duffle bag on the floor next to the nightstand and slipped the folded up sheet music inside for another day. He grabbed the box and headed to the kitchen to grab some scissors.

"I have something for you," he said, plopping down next to her. Lisa pushed up against his side.

"Oooh like what?" she said, eyeing the package. He handed her the box and the scissors.

"I ordered it before any of this happened, so its going to have to wait to actually be put to use for, well, a while, but I wanted to give it to you now anyway."

Lisa smiled at him and then tore at the box. Throwing a piece of tissue paper aside, she pulled out the smooth leather jacket.

"Oh," she gasped. "It's beautiful, Greg, you shouldn't have!"

"It's nothing," he said, slightly embarrassed. The look on her face was worth it though. While she stroked the jacket, he explained. "It's the same jacket as mine, a Model B in the woman's version. I didn't get the red armbands like on mine because, well, that's just too fruity for me. But it's synthetic leather, 'cuz I know you're a vegetarian and everything, so…yeah."

Lisa looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Greg, that's so beautiful, so thoughtful," she searched for words. Greg looked away, he didn't like that she was so moved, that she was so…full of emotion. He was too. He didn't like that. It was too foreign.

Lisa took his face in her hand, forcing him to meet her eyes.

"Thank you," she said before grinning. "I love you."

After a short pause, Greg whispered, "I love you too," before locking his lips with hers.

*****

Three hours later, as the credits for "The Sting" rolled across the screen, Lisa was asleep on Greg's shoulder. He flicked the power button and slowly stood so as not to wake her. Looking at her peacefully sleeping, he knew he couldn't wake her, but he also knew he couldn't leave her to sleep on the uncomfortable couch. Leaving his cane on the coffee table, he carefully picked Lisa up, supporting her head and her leg.

It took him ten minutes to get to the extra bedroom. He set her down carefully and gingerly pulled off the jacket, which fit perfectly and looked great on her. He placed a pillow under her cast and pulled a blanket over her before shrugging off his t-shirt and jeans and laying down next to her.

*

He heard the sirens before he opened his eyes. He looked up to see a paramedic applying a bandage to his forehead.

"What…happened?" He heaved, his chest in severe pain.

"You were in a motorcycle accident with your girlfriend, she's in the ambulance behind us."

"My girlfriend?"

"Yeah, Stacy something. You probably have a concussion, we'll be at the hospital in no time."

"Which…hospital?" He stuttered, noticing the lack of pain in his leg.

"Mercy," the paramedic replied.

"No…no, go to Princeton P-P-Plainsboro."

"Well, don't you want to go to the hospital where you work? You have a hospital ID in your wallet that says Mercy."

"Wh-what?"

"We're at the hospital. Stay with me," the young paramedic said, placing an oxygen mask over Greg's mouth and, with the aid of the other paramedic, pushed the gurney through the open ambulance doors.

*****

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	26. Chapter 25

**THis is the longest chapter yet...enjoy !! **

**Crazy busy this week...but I'll post as soon as I can! **

**Comments are amazing, people!**

************************** **

Chapter 25

His eyes darted to Lisa's peaceful face, assuring him that the woman in his arms was the woman he wanted in his arms. He had forgotten about his last dream, pushed it as far back into his mind as he could, hoping it had fallen out the other side. Apparently, it hadn't, and now he had another one to deal with.

Lisa was on her back, because her cast prohibited much movement, so Greg rolled to his side and pulled her closer, burying his face in the crook of her neck and inhaling deeply. There were plenty of anomalies in his dream that he both wanted and didn't want to figure out. He feared that if he figured it all out, he would fall for Stacy again, or some other weird thing would happen. He didn't want to screw this up.

So he began to think about the song he had written for Lisa days before, on the night of the accident. He wanted to play it for her, but he didn't want it to turn into some sappy moment. Just the thought of another sappy moment made him literally cringe. Lisa stirred slightly, a hand wandering to his back, but she didn't actually wake. In her slumber, she tried to roll over and woke when unsuccessful.

"Shit," she whispered into the dark, night air. One hand still on Greg's back, her other hand wandered down to her cast. Underneath, her leg itched like hell.

"Are you okay?" House whispered, pulling his face from her neck.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, babe, I didn't mean to wake you. I'm just not used to the cast."

"I was already awake." Greg laid his head on her upper chest, just below the base of her neck. They lay like that for a while, enjoying the warmth from each other. They both knew neither of them were asleep, but the silence was nice and they didn't want to break it.

"I love you," Lisa said into the night air.

He didn't want to say it, not again; he had said it too recently. He knew if he said it too much, it would become a chore, habit; it would lose meaning. He lifted his head and pressed his lips to hers instead.

*****

The next time he woke, the sun poured through He had shimmied higher up on the bed and Lisa's face was turned into his chest. He slid back down, his face millimeters from hers. Her smooth face, marred only by a scabbing gash on her forehead, filled him with a feeling he'd felt a lot lately, but never before that. It was amazing, freaky and scary all at the same time. He couldn't put words to it.

Lisa's lips contorted into a smile. "I can feel you staring at me." Her eyelids flickered open and her steely blue eyes met his. "Good morning."

"Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"My stitches itch. My leg itches. I'm itchy," she said with a laugh.

"Here, let me see," Greg pulled the hem of her tank top up her taught abdomen and revealed the white gauze covering her stitches. He carefully pulled the scotch tape and gauze off and examined the healing wound. "One sec," House said, rolling off the bed and limping out into the living room. He returned, walking with his cane now, and holding a roll of tape and a Ziploc he had snagged from the hospital.

"Thank you, Doctor," Lisa said with a laugh, once he was finished replacing the bandage.

"Anytime," House said, kissing her cheek, "anytime."

******

"So, for breakfast, we have cereal and, well, I think, not sure, but I think we also have some cereal," Greg said, leaning over the back of the couch next to where Lisa was sitting.

"That's a tough decision," Lisa said, "I think I'm gonna have to go with…cereal?"

"Good decision," Greg laughed and limped into the kitchen. Determined to not have to make two trips, he limped back into the living room with two bowls on his head, the cereal box under his arm, two spoons in the hand with his cane and the milk in the other hand.

"Eh? I'll wear this to the next hospital function," he said, motioning to the bowls on his head.

"You'll be the sexiest one there," Lisa said, leaning to help him put the stuff on the coffee table.

"You know it."

******

The days passed slower while Lisa was on rest, but neither of them complained. The time was nice, and though she didn't think it possible, Greg loosened up even more while they were alone together. At work, around his ducklings, he seemed pretty close to the same. Long before their relationship ever started, she always quickly dismissed any thoughts of the possibility because she figured he would be as big a jerk as always and she didn't want to have to deal with that. But this was different, way different; he was smiling, even happy, all the time. He didn't seem to hurt as much, proving that his pain really was psychological. She refrained from calling him out on it. He was doing favors for her, bringing her a blanket when she was cold, food when she was hungry; he _wanted_ to do things for her. All was going much better than she ever expected it to.

She started getting worried on Friday. His cell phone rang early in the morning. He was still in bed, his arms wrapped around Lisa, so he chose to ignore it.

"Just answer it, it's probably important," Lisa muttered when it rang for the third time. House rubbed his eyes and grabbed the phone off the bedside table. "Ducklings" blared from the LED screen and he groaned as he rolled out of bed.

"What?" he barked into the phone as he closed over the door to the extra bedroom and headed into the kitchen.

"We need you to come in," Thirteen said.

"I'm off, probably for another week. I have Cuddy's permission," he grumbled.

"Yeah, but this is an important case. And it's your job. Put Cuddy on the phone, I'm sure she'd make you come in."

"Handle it yourself."

"House, we're talking about James Dreivon here. He gave the hospital two hundred million dollars last year and made a pledge to match it again this year."

"I don't really care. You guys can solve it," he said.

"But-" Thirteen started, but House had already hung up the phone.

Greg stumbled back into the extra bedroom to find Lisa sitting against the headboard.

"What's wrong?"

"They got a case, I told them to solve it themselves. Foreman's got the reins, it'll do him good. Maybe he'll start to appreciate how hard I work."

"You don't work hard!" Lisa said with a laugh.

"Oh," Greg said with another one of those smiles that had been popping up so much, "well maybe he'll start to think I do." He grabbed the Ziploc with the bandages, which were starting to dwindle, and was taping down the gauze as he did every morning when Lisa's cell phone went off from the bedside table on her side of the bed. "Diagnostic" shone from the screen and with a raised eyebrow towards Greg she flipped the razr open.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dr. Cuddy, sorry to bother you, but James Dreivon is sick and House refused to come in to work," Taub explained through the speakerphone.

"James Dreivon?!" Cuddy gasped with a stern look towards House.

"Oh, way to go, tattletale," House growled. Taub suppressed a laugh as he heard what House said. He'd always found House and his antics hilarious.

"We don't know what's wrong, so Wilson told us to call House."

"He'll be in ASAP. Thank you for calling me, Dr. Taub," she said into the phone. After she hung up, she turned to Greg, "do you know who James Dreivon is?"

"Vaguely," he groaned.

"He gave the hospital two _hundred_ million dollars last year for a new radiology wing! And he promised to match it again this year if all was going well!"

"Sooooo?"

"So, you already cost us one hundred million. Go cure this guy and you better not mess it up!"

"Fiiiiiine," he said, sliding his arms around her waist, "but you owe me, big."

"Yeah," she said, stroking his scruffy cheek, "I owe you, but not for this." She guided his head until his lips met hers.

*

Ten minutes later, (there was a little procrastination), House was pulling on a Rolling Stones T and jeans. Once he was dressed, he popped some Vicodin and helped Lisa into the wheelchair. On Monday she would get her stitches taken out, and on Friday they should be healed enough for her to start using crutches. She was stuck in the wheelchair until then so her ribs had time to heal.

He left once he was sure she was comfortable and able to get around without too much trouble. Grumpy, he road his motorcycle through the warm summer air to the hospital.

**

At first, Greg answered her texts immediately. After about an hour, the replies stopped coming and he wouldn't answer his phone. After her third "call me and let me know how it's going" voicemail, she gave up trying.

She spent the day flipping through the channels. It took her twenty minutes just to get to the bathroom, so she didn't do much moving around. Although she tried not to, she found herself glancing at her phone every few minutes. She should've known this was what would happen. This was what how Greg House worked; he was nice when they were alone, but whenever work interfered he would get more distant. Probably for the better, considering the previous times when he was a jerk, it was usually during a stressful case. How would he act when they went out in public? She had all too much time to think about all this while she mindlessly flipped through channels.

On the other side of Princeton, House slammed his fist into his desk as Foreman presented another false test. He knew his phone had been going off in his office, but he didn't have time to deal with that now. They needed new ideas.

***

Thirty-six hours, three failed diagnoses and one successful one later, House was standing next to his motorcycle and was listening to his nine voicemails. Knowing she would be upset, he mounted his motorcycle and headed to headed to the nearest floral shop.

**

"C'mon," House argued with the proprietor.

"Sorry, we're closing up shop for the night," the guy replied.

"C'mon, I need twelve roses, it can't be that hard!"

"Sorry, we're closed."

"It's 7:59, you close at eight," House argued, getting more aggravated.

"Sorry."

"Listen, bud, sell me twelve roses before I let myself in and just take them!"

"If you did that, I'd call the cops," the guy growled. He tried to close the door but House's foot was in the way.

"Are heart problems in your family?" House asked, seemingly concerned.

"What?"

"I'm a doctor. You are showing signs of clubbing on your fingers, which is a sign of heart disease and ultimately heart failure."

"I don't buy it."

"This is serious, if you don't get checked out you will die!" Machiavellian ideas were floating through House's head.

"Well…" The guy was starting to give in.

"Look, get checked out real soon, but in the meantime, I've got these pills in the car that should get you better in no time. If you get the roses, I'll get the pills."

"Well…"

"I'm trying to save your life here."

"Fine. Go get the pills." House turned and limped back to his motorcycle, chuckling when he realized he had told the guy he had the pills in his car when he didn't even drive a car. He reached into the items compartment under the seat and found a half-empty box of tic tacs. He dumped his Vicodin in his pocket, ripped the label off and dumped the tic tacs into the orange bottle. When he returned to the doorway, the man was holding just one rose.

"I'm sorry, we only have one left."

"It'll do, I guess. Here." House tossed him the bottle, took the rose and started limping back to his bike.

"That'll be $2.49."

House turned around; he was already halfway to his bike. "No it won't be. I just saved your life." He mounted the bike, slid the stem of the rose down the front of his jacket for lack of a better place to put it and broke the speed limit the whole way home.

**

He made no effort to quiet his entrance into the house. He pulled off his jacket and hung it on the banister as he made his way into the living room, where he found Lisa fast asleep to the sound of the TV. He turned the TV off and sat down next to her; she had somehow managed to get from the wheelchair to the couch. He almost didn't want to wake her, but he knew he owed her an apology and he would probably chicken out if he waited for the morning. He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her hard, grinning through the kiss when her lips started moving too. When they parted, Greg showed her the rose.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you back." All the anger she'd had before, all the worries: gone.

And from that moment on she knew that House was no longer a moping, miserable jackass, and that everything was gonna be okay.

*****

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	27. Chapter 26

**sorry it took me! this time of year is always so hectic for me! **

**Next one should be loooong though!**

**Enjoy! REVIEW, por favor!**

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Chapter 26

The two and a half days until Lisa's appointment at the hospital went slowly, but Lisa was beyond blissful the entire way. Ever since Tuesday night, when she realized that Greg really was changed, happiness was ever present. Greg didn't question it.

**

"Does it feel like it's straining the site of your stitches at all? Does it hurt your ribs?"

"Uhm…no straining, but my ribs hurt a little. They did all along," she said as she tried out the crutches in the open space of the kitchen.

"You should be fine on the crutches then. They'll do follow-up X-rays today. Ready to go?" He asked, picking up her purse with the intention of carrying it for her.

"Yeah. I wonder if the hospital is in ruins yet."

"It isn't," Greg said as they inched slowly towards the door, "on Tuesday, only two fires broke out and there was only one elephant stampede in the lobby. So, not ruins… _yet_," he joked.

"Well, that eases my mind." They really were a sight to see, Greg limping down the steps and turning to help Lisa hop down the steps. Almost in synch, both of their right legs injured, they limped down the walk to where Wilson's Volvo awaited. Lisa's car was in the shop still from the crash, and House's car was back at his lot. He'd have to get it soon, as Lisa was becoming more mobile by the day and was going back to work on Monday. Greg had convinced her to start off only part-time.

Wilson was chuckling when they finally arrived at the car.

"Listen, I found these shirts for you two," he said, tossing them back as they both slid carefully into the back seat. House erupted into laughter when he read the front of the bigger of the two bright red shirts.

"Cripple #1? That's perfect!" Lisa was laughing too when she noticed hers said 'Cripple #2'. With Wilson's promise to keep his eyes covered, they both changed into the shirts that were sure to get some laughs from their coworkers.

***

They arrived at the hospital twenty minutes early for the appointment, which was for the better considering it took Lisa seven minutes to get from the handicapped parking spot to the front door. Lisa was surprised to see that the hospital seemed to be running smoothly. Everyone seemed cheery; they even got a nod and a smile from the notorious Wicked Witch of PPTH, also-known-as Nurse Brenda.

"You guys head to the clinic, right?" Wilson asked as they stopped near the Nurses' front desk. When Lisa nodded, he added, "okay, call me when you guys are ready to leave and I'll drive you to get House's car."

***

"Good afternoon, Dr. Cuddy," Dr. Riles announced in an overly cheery manner as she entered the room that House had taken so many naps in. He felt as though he could easily and willingly take one now.

"Hi, Dr. Riles," Lisa said, nudging House to keep him awake.

"I see the little scrapes on your face are gone. This gash is healing nicely," she said, examining the gash on the very top of Lisa's forehead, almost in line with her hairline. It wasn't that big; it was barely noticeable. House made a mental note to talk to Taub about ways to keep that from scarring.

Riles took special surgical tweezers and scissors and gently snipped the four stitches. There was so little blood she didn't even need a band-aid. Riles then had Lisa lay back on the bench and expose the cut from the surgery that was just below her left breast. House, of course, perked up a little with the exposure of Lisa's tight abs. Riles carefully pried the staples out and applied a new bandage.

"You're cuts are healing nicely, as is your leg. We want to take a few X-rays of your ribs to make sure you're good to start on crutches," she added as she prodded the area around the ribs that had been broken. "They feel mostly healed but we want to make sure. A tech will be in in a little bit. Other than that, though, you're free to move around more. I suggest you work your way up to working full time or doing full-out exercise, mind your leg, but other than that you're good. In one month we'll bring you to take off your cast."

"Thank you, Dr. Riles," Lisa said. She grinned, glad she didn't have to sit around and do nothing anymore.

"No problem," Riles said with a smile to Lisa. House could tell she was doing her best to ignore him, a sort of 'if I don't bother him, he won't bother me' deal. She turned to leave the room, smiling with her success, when House interrupted her thoughts.

"Doctor, I have a question," he said, knowing full well she was trying to get away without having to talk to him.

"Okay, _Doctor_ House. What is it?" She emphasized doctor because he probably could answer it himself. He was, after all, the most brilliant doctor in New Jersey.

"Are we cleared to have sex?" Lisa face-palmed and Riles almost laughed.

"Medically, yes, but why she'd want to have sex with you…" she trailed off jokingly and left before House had the chance to retort.

**

After the X-rays, which confirmed the healing of her ribs, Lisa wanted to get started immediately and convinced Greg to let her work for just a few hours. This left him no choice but to confront his team and maybe even do some of his own work.

"I thought you weren't coming back 'til tomorrow," Foreman said as House entered the lounge for the first time in a week.

"Damn woman is addicted to work," House grumbled. "Where's bi, brown and balding?"

"MRI. We took an easy case 'cuz we finished our clinic hours. Yours too, by the way. You're welcome. Don't bother with a Thank-You card," he replied sarcastically.

"Wow, you really are more like me by the day, aren't you," House snarked as he limped to his office. Foreman refrained from throwing his pen at him.

***

An hour passed and he was already bored. Actually, he was bored when he got in the elevator on his way up to the office. He kind of wanted a challenging case, but going back to Lisa's house and relaxing for another week wouldn't suck too bad either. The AC was blasting on the warm July day as he threw Ball-y against the wall and thought about how bizarre it was that he was…_happy_. He'd rather be happy at home though, so he emailed Lisa and told her to 'hurry her hot ass up'.

In his inbox was an email from the auto shop Lisa's car had been towed to immediately following the crash. It was fixed now and ready to pick up. The old man was charging a tremendous amount of money, to which House rolled his eyes and picked up the phone, prepared for an argument.

Half an hour, a string of swears and some forceful throws of Ball-y against the wall later, the old man agreed to a substantial discount and House hung up the phone with a smile. At some point, 13, Taub and Kutner returned from the MRI with results but didn't bother to acknowledge House's presence the next room over. That was probably a smart move.

House was dozing off when his computer chirped to inform him of the new message in his inbox. A single glance told him Lisa was ready to go, so he grabbed his cell phone off the desk and his cane, which had been hanging on the lamp in the corner, and left without a single word to his employees.

***

Lisa seemed to enjoy being on crutches. A couple weeks in a wheelchair would do that to someone who was usually constantly on their feet. Once they got home, Lisa couldn't tear herself away from the stack of files she had brought with her. Wilson had brought them to pick up Lisa's car on the way home, and from there they stopped at House's apartment so he could grab his guitar. That entertained him for a while, but after some time he was getting antsy as his crippled girlfriend poured over her work.

So he decided to make a move.

When he approached the back of the couch, she was hunched over a file, reading glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose and her hair in a messy bun. He had to pause for a second to admire how beautiful she really was. A voice in the back of his head told him he was going to screw it up with her and that this wasn't going to last long. That little voice was really getting annoying lately…it had adapted the sound of Wilson's voice some years ago, and ever since it had been even more prominent than before. Like he needed a second, more whiny Wilson in his life.

Pushing Wilson's pain-in-the-ass voice out of his mind, he leaned against the back of the couch and squeezed her shoulders. Lisa leaned back into his touch and smiled.

Massaging her shoulders, Greg asked, "can you stop working now? Today was only your first day back."

"Even more reason why I need to work more. I need to sign off on a ridiculous amount of papers, the board wants replies to all these emails regarding the Dreivon wing, I need to check up with the person I sent to oversee the contractors…"

"Yeah, okay, and none of that is as important as spending time with me."

"You're right," Lisa replied.

Greg was surprised. He didn't think it'd be this easy. "Really?" He cocked an eyebrow as he limped to the other side of the couch and plopped down close to her.

"Yeah."

Their eyes met for a second and Greg offered Lisa his hand. She grinned and took it, and they started down the hallway, leaning on each other as they limped. Halfway to the extra bedroom, Lisa collapsed against the wall and started laughing uncontrollably.

"What?" Greg asked, grinning; her laughter was contagious.

"We're both just so screwed up! Neither of us can walk like a normal human being," she gasped.

"Well, normal's overrated," Greg said, pinning her to the wall and kissing her. Her laughter didn't stop, and as their mouths vibrated, Greg started laughing too.

"Well, then we're just meant to be, aren't we?"

"Sure are."

With Wilson's voice/ his conscience completely out of his mind, Cripples number one and two stumbled the rest of the way to the guest bedroom.

*****

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	28. Chapter 27 Part I

**Lots of content in this chapter! Actually there's a bit of a change of plans, I meant to post this whole chapter in one, but i haven't posted in a while and I'm having some writer's block. Sorry it took me so long to post again, I'm afraid it might be a while before I post again as Midterms are coming up and most of us know how fun those are :/. So, read, review, enjoy, and review! Did I mention, reviews are lovely, people?! Haha.**

**Reviews please! Did I mention that already?**

* * *

Chapter 27 **Part I**

Time moved quickly once Lisa was back at work. House grumpily followed suit, and was even forced to work earlier than he usually would on most days so that they could drive together.

Summer passed and fall came, the leaves turning their vibrant mosaic of colors. In October, House actually got around to basically moving in with Lisa the rest of the way- he hired a guy to take down and move the baby grand, and place it in the corner of Lisa's computer room, which she never used. The stationary PC hadn't been touched since she got her MacBook Pro a few months prior to the beginning of her relationship with House. This, to him, was a huge step, a big deal. Sure, he still had his apartment, but his guitars, piano and clothes were at Lisa's…aside from that all he needed was Vicodin and food, which he could supply himself. After a short time, he learned that tagging along on the trips to the grocery store was a good idea- Lisa's vegetarianness resulted in some not-so-appetizing food items in the cupboards.

In the months between late June and Thanksgiving, his dream only returned once. They never recurred, they continued like one big dream cut into smaller pieces. In this one, he was wheeled from the ambulance into the hospital and was transferred over to a bed. He vaguely recognized the hospital from when he was applying for a job after he had been fired the third time. It was Mercy. That was all the information he got before he woke up. These dreams were freaking him out, but he didn't dare mention them to Lisa.

Lisa desperately wanted to hold Thanksgiving dinner at her house, which Greg was fine with as long as he didn't he didn't have to clean up. He knew he would probably end up cleaning anyway, but Lisa was wearing a low cut shirt when she asked him, so he couldn't really argue with her.

The guest list was Wilson and a guest if he wanted, Cuddy's sister, Rebecca (who had made an amazing recovery, though was still going through some rehab), Cuddy's mom, Judith, and her boyfriend, Paul. When Lisa added Paul's name to the guest list, she did it with a scowl. She wasn't fond of him, and especially wasn't fond of her mother dating someone though her father had died when she was a child. After careful persuasion (involving a low cut top, of course), she even convinced Greg to add his mom to the list. Blythe House would have no one else to eat with after his father had died earlier in the year.

With only a week to Thanksgiving, Lisa was getting excited. She had all her grocery shopping lists done and the menu written out in her beautiful handwriting. There would be a turkey, a simulation turkey actually made from tofu for her and her sister, mashed potatoes, two kinds of stuffing, gravy, vegetables and cranberry sauce. Lisa read out the list and House's mouth was watering already.

Blythe House came out the night before Thanksgiving to help; she was overexcited that her son finally had a serious girlfriend after Stacy. She had never liked Stacy in the first place. But Lisa Cuddy- Wilson had told Blythe about Cuddy years ago, and they had met once. From the way Wilson had described Cuddy, even so many years ago, it sounded like he thought there was a lot of chemistry between her son and this woman.

Blythe was very nice and quite helpful. Lisa didn't understand why Greg didn't want her to come in the first place. Probably because he didn't want people to see him be nice, which he, surprisingly, was around his mother.

With Blythe around, Thanksgiving was easy. Lisa's mom showed up pretty early on Thanksgiving day to help as well. With the two moms and Lisa, Greg didn't have to do much. He was grateful for that.

Dinner went well. Greg's mom led the prayer, which House went along with civilly. Inside, he kind of missed his father, but in reality he was glad John House was not in attendance at the Thanksgiving dinner. There would've been too many questions, too little patience, and in the end just another screaming match like every other Thanksgiving dinner he'd had to spend with his father previous.

At dinner, Greg sat at the head of the table, with his mom to one side and Lisa to the other. Next to Blythe was Wilson, then Emily. Rebecca sat next to Lisa, and Judith next to Rebecca. Paul, Judith's boyfriend, sat on the other end of the table.

Paul was that successful-and-snobby-about-it type. He was in the investment management business, a president of some big company. He spent at least ten minutes telling a confusing story about an investor who lost some money or something. Everyone laughed and nodded at the appropriate times; Blythe was the only one who meant it. Greg almost took a nap in his mashed potatoes. Paul was pretty young, too- Lisa's mom was 68 and Paul was maybe 55, if that. It kinda freaked Lisa out that her mom's boyfriend was only five years older than her own boyfriend. It wasn't that surprising- Lisa got her looks from her mom, who looked to be not even 60. Still, though, the boyfriend thing bothered Lisa more than she let show.

****

Blythe stayed the night to help clean up; her plane took off at nine the next morning. Greg drove her to the airport and was actually sad to see her go. The dinner had been nice, and ever since his dad was gone his time with his mom had been pleasant.

When he got back home from seeing his mother off, he collapsed, fully clothed, back onto the bed next to his sleeping woman. They had been up until almost two cleaning- Wilson and Emily had remained until midnight after the rest of the guests had left around ten with excuses of early work-days and shopping.

Speaking of Emily, she was actually nice, and seemed to make Wilson happy. House was glad for that, though he'd never show it. After Amber, his best friend really needed someone. It was about time. She was smart, witty, and clearly the more assertive in the relationship; not quite as controlling as Amber, but enough so that she could get what she wanted and still was likeable at the same time. Emily simply further confirmed the fact that Wilson is attracted to that sort of person.

Around one p.m. on Black Friday, Lisa was awoken by hunger. Off crutches and out of a cast in October, she shuffled into the kitchen and put the entire bowl of leftover mashed potatoes in the microwave. The smell would wake Greg up, and he would want some too. Then she set the coffee maker to start brewing. She briefly thought about how disgusting a combination coffee and mashed potatoes would be, but started the coffee anyway.

Sure enough, three minutes later, Greg came into the kitchen leaning heavily on his cane.

"Hungry?" She asked with a smile. In a gray T-shirt and jeans, with his hair all messy just after he woke up, he was the sexiest man in the world. He was the sexiest man in the world anytime.

"Mhm," he mumbled, smiling back. His smile widened when Lisa grabbed the bowl and two spoons in one hand and headed towards the living room, tugging his free arm to follow.

"Food," Greg exclaimed as Lisa curled up against him on the couch with the bowl on her lap. He grabbed a spoon and started eating.

"I think everybody had fun last night," Lisa said between mouthfuls of delicious mashed potatoes.

"Yeah, every second Paul wasn't talking."

"He is unbearable, isn't he! I don't know what my mom sees in him…"

"He's rich and good looking…ish."

"Yeah, but my mom's not usually that shallow!"

"People have no idea what you see in me. Other than my extreme gorgeousness. Maybe we're missing something about Paul."

Lisa laughed. "Maybe you're right. Everyone else's blindness means I get you all to myself. I'm good with that."

Greg chuckled and snaked his arm around her. "So am I."

*****

**Reviews, por favor!**


	29. Chapter 27 Part II

**I can barely believe it myself when I say I'm actually posting... now, I realize the timing is a little off, considering that in the story it's still Christmas and in RL it's 95 degrees and sunny (at least where I am it is). Oh well.**

**Also, I HIGHLY suggest going back and reading at least the chapter before this... even I forgot half of the stuff that had happened, despite the fact that I wrote the damn thing.**

**Thank you so, so much, to any of my readers who actually continue to read despite the lengthy break. Sometimes life just doesn't go as planned and, well, some stuff has to get put to the side.**

**But i'm back now. SO HERE YA GO! :)**

This is Chapter 27, Part II

With Thanksgiving over, the holiday season had begun. Greg had no idea what to get Lisa, nor did Lisa have an idea of what to get Greg. It was decided that on the first night of Hanukkah, they would celebrate at Lisa's house with Wilson and Emily. They decided that Christmas day they were just going to have a lazy day, just the two of them. That's what Greg looked forward to the most.

With winter came injuries and an influx of patients at the hospital. House did his clinic duty sans arguments…after all, he was sleeping with the boss, and while that meant he could get away with some stuff, he didn't want to sacrifice anything. Since their relationship had started, he actually seemed to take advantage of her less than he did before. He was more interested in making her happy than suiting his own lazy tendencies, though he'd never admit that.

They woke up early (House unwillingly, of course) and came home late. All the while, House was thinking about what to get Lisa for Hanukkah/Christmas. He even went so far as to ask Wilson. Lisa already had some ideas in mind for gifts for Greg.

The holiday season passed fast. The first night of Hanukkah, Lisa, Greg, Wilson and Emily all had dinner at Lisa and Greg's house. Wilson and Emily were getting serious, and Emily was getting more comfortable with the mismatched screwy family that was Lisa, Greg, Wilson and now she.

Time was passing so fast, it was like the days blurred together. On Christmas Eve, Greg carried two glasses of wine into the living room and sat down close to his woman, who was gazing at the Christmas tree.

"How are you doing?" Greg asked, handing her the wine and wrapping his free arm around her.

"I feel like Thanksgiving was yesterday."

"I know right," he replied, kissing her forehead, "~it's the most wonderful time of the year~," he sang softly.

"I'm not used to this," she laughed. "There's a fucking tree in my living room."

Greg chuckled. "One year, one of my few Christmas's in the States, my dad was hit with a niceness stick and let me pick out the tree. I fell in love with a tree that was perfect on one side, but the other side was like something had taken a massive bite out of it. We put it in front of the window so the dead side faced the street. We got a lot of comments that year."

Lisa laughed into his chest. They sat, curled together, in silence for a while. Greg left his wine untouched after the first sip; it wasn't really his thing.

"I love you," he said into the open air. "I know I don't say it much, but I do."

"I know you do," she tilted her head to look up at him, "I love you too. I love you so much."

"I'm glad we're here." It was a vague statement; it could've meant anything. But Lisa knew exactly what he meant.

"Do you remember the Lupus dinner? Our first date."

"Oh God," he laughed. "I remember that the food was terrible, you were sexy as hell and Cameron glared across the table at me the whole time."

"I remember that too. You danced with me."

"I remember that."

"I never thought you would dance with me. When I was getting ready, I was thinking about how much I wanted to dance with you that night, though I knew it wouldn't happen. But it did."

Greg didn't say anything for a second. Suddenly, he got to his feet, limped over to the stereo and pressed play. Johnny Mathis's "I'll Be Home For Christmas" started playing. Greg walked back over to the couch where Lisa was sitting and held out his hand.

"Will you dance with me?"

Lisa giggled and set down her empty wine glass. "Absolutely."

He led her to the open floor and pulled her close. He leaned on his left leg as they swayed to the beat of the music. The song was the last on the CD, and when it ended they continued dancing into the silence.

"My leg doesn't hurt much any more," Greg said abruptly. She was pulled tight, with her face next to his ear. He was glad he didn't have to see her immediate reaction to the next thing he said.

"I noticed it wasn't bothering you as much," she said. When she thought about it, he hadn't been taking Vicodin very often. "Your limp is shallower."

"I'm off Vicodin." Lisa stopped and pulled away just enough to see his face.

"What?"

"I haven't taken any Vicodin in a month." He had been hoping it would slide by. He didn't want any attention drawn to it. He should've known not to hope… after all, hope is for sissies.

"Really?" She was in shock. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen him pop a pill in a while… the last time she could remember was when he came into the kitchen to help her carry food out to the table on Thanksgiving. His mom's boyfriend, Paul, was a lot to deal with.

"Really. I filled a prescription to keep Wilson off my back, but I haven't touched it."

"Are you detoxing?"

"No." Lisa thought for a moment, and then realized the only logical possibility.

"Are you on something stronger?" She demanded.

"No!"

"Then how the hell is your leg _better_?"

"I have no fucking clue," he said. Lisa had been shocked, and now was upset with the thought that he was on methadone or worse. He grinned and kissed her forehead. "But my leg doesn't hurt as much any more. I told you because I'm happy. I've never… been able to say that before," he whispered.

She paused a second, looking into his eyes. The room was dark, but the light from the illuminated Christmas tree cast a soft glow across his face. Suddenly she grinned and shifted to her toes to kiss him on the lips.

"I'm really happy for you, Greg," she said, stroking his stubbled cheek. "How did you just stop taking it?"

He laughed and tugged her to the couch. He was still limping; it still hurt plenty, maybe an 8 as opposed to the previous 18 on a scale out of 10. He pulled her down into his arms and buried his face in her coconut smelling hair. Suddenly, he laughed.

"What?"

"I forgot."

"Huh?"

"I forgot to take the Vicodin. That's how I stopped. I went a full day, and then realized that I hadn't taken any, and then noticed that I didn't really need to take any. So I didn't. And that was it."

"Seriously?"

"Yup."

"That's weird. And good."

"Hell yeah."

Christmas was nice. Lisa had never celebrated it, and Greg didn't really care much, so they had a lazy day at home. Greg got Lisa a Wii with WiiFit- not because she needed it, he assured her. She had kind of fallen off the bandwagon lately of her usual Yoga and Pilates routines, which she loved, and he was worried he was pulling her from that. He hoped this would get her back to that. He also got her MarioKart, which he knew he would make more use of than her. She got him an awesome vintage record player to go with his impressive collection of vinyl, which he had recently moved into her house and was mostly in a box but also splayed over the guestroom bed… which is why she also got him a shelf system for it.

Three holidays down, one to go in the near future. Greg actually thought he would survive it. Holidays, gatherings… not really his thing. Hooray for Valentine's day in just two months…

The hospital held an annual New Year's function for charity on New Years Eve. House didn't usually go, but Lisa was forcing him. After all, she was running the thing. The last hospital dinner went well (hey, look what it turned into…) so he figured it wouldn't be so bad. This function was for the Save the Children foundation.

And there will be booze. That's a plus.


End file.
